Economic Model Rolls Home in Easy Goer

Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence's Economic Model got a good trip in the $150,000 Easy Goer Stakes June 11 at Belmont Park, while favored Cupid missed the break, rushed up on the backside, and faded to finish last. 

By Flatter  , the 3-year-old Economic Model came off an easy, four-length optional claiming allowance victory going a mile May 4 and picked up his first stakes score for trainer Chad Brown in the Easy Goer. He took plenty of dirt near the back of the pack while Hit It Once More set the pace with a :23.75 opening quarter and a half in :46.05, but found the rail path under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. for his closing run through three-quarters in 1:09.78 en route to a 1 1/2-length victory.

"With Cupid not breaking and rushing and a lot of developments up front, that is what we hoped for, a solid pace," Brown said. "I was surprised that Irad chose the inside route, I thought he would get stopped as I saw the race developing, but fortunately it opened up and he got through. He had plenty of horse the whole well. We're going to take a shot in one of those good races going a mile and an eighth, more than likely. I will talk to the owners about it, but I would say the Jim Dandy or Haskell are likely."

The final time for 1 1/16 miles, after a 1:34 mile, was 1:40.18 on a fast main track.

"I hit him left-handed and he started coming out. I tried to keep him straight," Ortiz Jr. said. "He's doing much better. He's improving. He's a nice horse."

"He's a fresh horse," Brown added. "He's still learning. He made the lead there and he got a little green there near the wire, he started to drift from the stick. He has a few things to figure out, but we couldn't be more pleased with his performance today." 

Economic Model returned $10, $5.10, and $3.70 at odds of 4-1. Race Me Home brought $11.40 and $4.70. Rally Cry paid $2.60 to show. Hit It Once More and Cupid completed the order of finish.

The winner of the Rebel Stakes (gr. II), Cupid was coming off a layup after undergoing throat surgery following a 10th-place finish in the Arkansas Derby (gr. I) and went off at odds of 4-5 in a short field of five. 

"It was a little disappointing. I'm not sure why," assistant trainer Jim Barnes said of the Bob Baffert trainee. "Maybe it was the one turn that he didn't like. He was a step slow leaving the gate and (jockey Florent Geroux) tried to get him off the rail and to the outside, which he did, but it doing so it looked like he engaged early and wanted to be a little aggressive. That's racing. We'll go back and get a look at him and see where we're at."

Economic Model also briefly contested the Triple Crown trail, running second in the Swale Stakes (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park in January before a ninth in the March 12 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (gr. II) derailed those hopes. The allowance win one start back was his first race since then.

"We've always liked this horse a lot," Brown said. "His race at Tampa was just so disappointing, but it is becoming clear now it was just the track over there. I've never lost confidence in this horse stretching out as well. He's always acted like a horse who wants to run further. We'll stretch him out from here."

Bred in Kentucky by Claiborne Farm out of the Quiet American mare Queen of America, Economic Model has now won three starts from five outs.