Lubash Takes West Point for Second Time

Still going strong at age 8, Aliyu Ben J Stables’ homebred Lubash won the $150,000 West Point Stakes for a second time Aug. 28, scoring by a length from King Kreesa at Saratoga Race Course.

The West Point was one of six stakes for New York-breds carded on Saratoga’s 11-race program.

Trained by Christophe Clement, Lubash won the race in 2012 and went one better than last year’s runner-up finish. He stalked from fourth with Junior Alvarado aboard before collaring front-runner King Kreesa nearing the sixteenth pole. King Kreesa finished 1 1/2 lengths clear of third-place finisher and pacesetter Notacatbutallama.

A son of Freud  , Lubash has compiled a career mark of 15-9-5 from 43 starts that includes 10 stakes wins and 13 stakes-placings. He came into the West Point off a 3 1/2-length win in a seven-furlong New York-bred allowance race June 26 at Belmont Park. Two starts ago, he won the Kingston Stakes by a length at Belmont.

Lubash paid $5, $2.50, and $2.10, while King Kreesa returned $2.40 and $2.10. Notacatbutallama paid $2.60 to show. The West Point was expected to be a showdown between the winner and Kharafa, as each had two wins apiece from four meetings, but Kharafa was scratched.

Michael Dubb, Bethlehem Stables and The Elkstone Group's Good Luck Gus got up in the closing stages to deny One Sided by a half length in the $250,000 Albany Stakes for 3-year-olds to earn his third stakes win. The son of Lookin At Lucky  , ridden by Luis Saez, has a 4-3-0 record from 10 career starts for trainer Rudy Rodriguez.

The Albany marked back-to-back stakes wins on the card for Saez, who guided Kendel D. Standlee’s The Tea Cups to her first stakes win in the $150,000 Yaddo Stakes for fillies and mares. The 5-year-old daughter of Hard Spun   cruised down the center of the track to win by a length while completing a last-to-first rally.  

In a pair of $200,000 stakes for juveniles, both winners became the first stakes winners for their respective sires.

Repole Stable homebred Sudden Surprise became the first stakes winner for Rockridge Stud’s freshman sire Giant Surprise   in taking the Funny Cide Stakes by two lengths as the 9-10 favorite , and Nirvana Stables’ She's All Ready, a daughter of Darley’s Central Kentucky sire Girolamo  , went gate to wire to land the Seeking the Ante Stakes for fillies by three lengths and stay perfect in two career starts.

Giant Surprise was a Repole homebred who broke down in winning his debut at 2011 at Saratoga. Mike Repole said winning with the Funny Cide with one of his New York-bred offspring was pretty special.

"It was meaningful to watch (Sudden Surprise) run here given what happened to Giant Surprise,” Repole said. “Giant Surprise (debuted) the day of the Jim Dandy (gr. II) in 2011—a promising 2-year-old… We came down to the winner's circle, like we did today, and (Giant Surprise) didn't make it back. Todd (Pletcher) liked him. He was super talented with great pedigree and great conformation. I wanted to help the New York-bred program.”

In her debut Aug. 7 at Saratoga, She's All Ready took eight overmatched opponents wire to wire, drawing off to win by 8 1/4 lengths.

“She's a very thick filly,” trainer Jim Ryerson said of the winner. “She's built like a sprinter. She's very strong, and at this stage, she's very mature, so that gives her a little chance… We wouldn't be afraid to go against open company. That could definitely be a possibility."

Shooting Star Stable’s Jc's Shooting Star (by Miracle Man) entered the $200,000 Fleet Indian Stakes for 3-year-old fillies a maiden and emerged a stakes winner, taking the race by a head at 18-1 odds.