Emaraaty Goes All the Way in Bernard Baruch
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Photo: Coglianese Photos
Emaraaty wins the Bernard Baruch Handicap at Saratoga Race Course
One thing you can say about Emaraaty —the 7-year-old gelding sure likes Saratoga Race Course.
In a summer that has featured mostly sunny and many hot days, the 40-day Thoroughbred season ended with a lousy weather day. It was cold and damp and an all-day drizzled hung over the track on closing day, Sept. 5.
That didn't matter to Emaraaty. He continued to love the Spa.
The son of Dubawai won for the fourth time in five career starts at Saratoga, winning his first graded stakes race, the 64th running of the $200,000 Bernard Baruch Handicap (G3T) for 3-year-olds and up.
Ridden by Flavien Prat, Emaraaty covered the 1 1/16 miles on an Inner turf course labeled good in a time of 1:41.36. He carried 120 pounds.
And this time, the horse showed something he had never shown before. He broke out of the gate sharply and took the lead and never gave it up. He rolled around the Saratoga grass virtually unchallenged, and won by 3 1/2 lengths.
Emaraaty had never employed that type of running style in 10 prior starts for trainer Chad Brown.
"What a heads-up ride by Flavien," Brown said as raindrops fell in the Saratoga winner's circle. "It looked like it was a big devoid of speed in this race, so I gave him the option to send out of there."
And off they went. Emaraaty set fractions of 23.44, 47.35 and 1:11.21 and that was a bit of a concern to Brown. Maybe, he thought, that would set it up for his other horse in the race, Mouillage , the even-money favorite.
There would be no rally from Mouillage, who finished last in the field of six.
"Mouillage didn't care for the turf today," Brown said. "He didn't kick in today. I was very proud of Emaraaty that, after posting those fractions—when he passed the three quarters in 1:11—that he was able to re-break again. It was impressive."
Bred in Great Britain by Meon Valley Stud out of the Zafonic mare Zee Zee Top, Emaraaty was a big-dollar purchase as a yearling when he sold to Shadwell Estate Co. for $3,480,477 at the 2016 Tattersalls October Sale. He began his career in Great Britain for trainer John Gosden and had two wins in seven starts. Shadwell sent him to Brown's barn in the United States toward the end of 2018, and he made six additional starts for that operation before a new ownership group—Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, and Michael Caruso—bought him privately at the end of last year. A decision was then made to geld the horse.
"He's been a different horse since we gelded him," Brown said.
Emaraaty did not make his first start of 2022 until July 3 and got beaten a half length in an allowance race. Then he won an allowance at Saratoga Aug. 4.
And he showed his affinity for the Spa in the Baruch, going off at odds of 6-1. He paid $14.60. Emaraaty ran in the Baruch during the summer of 2019 when it was a grade 2, finishing fourth in the only Saratoga start he did not win.
"It didn't feel like there was a whole lot of speed, so I let him run out of there and let him run all the way to the first turn," Prat said. "From that point, he relaxed well and kicked home well."
Emaraaty improved his record to 6-3-1 from 18 starts, with earnings of $386,443.
City Man , owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Peter Searles, and Patty Searles, closed well to finish second for jockey Trevor McCarthy. Winters Back finished third, a half length in front of Ocala Dream . The order of finish was completed by Dynadrive and Mouillage.