Bracket Buster Romps in Pegasus, Punches Haskell Ticket
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Photo: Julia Sebastianelli/EQUI-PHOTO
Bracket Buster wins the Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park
Although he failed to pick up his feet over the slop on Derby Day, Bracket Buster was undeterred by Monmouth Park's wet track June 14, splashing home an eye-catching winner of the $162,000 Pegasus Stakes.
Braxton Lynch, the part-owner and founder of BBN Racing, was confident Bracket Buster would avenge his disappointing seventh-place allowance finish no matter what surface he faced.
"He was doing well coming (into the Pegasus), he'd shown us glimmers of that talent and he just put it all together today," Lynch said.
A game runner-up to Preakness Stakes (G1) second Gosger in Keeneland's Lexington Stakes (G3) April 12, Bracket Buster ran back to that effort and then some in the 1 1/16-mile Pegasus. Breaking sharply from the gate, he needed little encouragement from jockey Axel Concepcion to take the lead, and clung to a narrow advantage over longshot Wildncrazynight through early splits of :24.03 and :48.48. The Vekoma colt shook loose from his rival rounding the far turn and began to distance himself from the rest of the field as he raced unchallenged into the stretch.
Skipping over the slop, Bracket Buster ($9.60) hit the wire seven lengths in front in a final time of 1:44.64.
Wildncrazynight held on for second while Valentinian nosed out National Law in a photo for third. Garamond , the 2-5 favorite from the barn of Chad Brown, finished last of six.
Stabled at trainer Vicki Oliver's year-round Keeneland barn in Kentucky, Bracket Buster earned his return ticket back to the Jersey Shore with his Pegasus victory. The top two finishers of Monmouth's local prep receive free entry and start fees to the $1 million Haskell Stakes (G1) July 19.