Madefromlucky Grinds Out Temperence Hill Win

It was hard to peg Cheyenne Stables and Mac Nichol's Madefromlucky for a winner until the final moments of the $200,000 Temperence Hill Invitational Stakes at Belmont Park.

Under a drive from jockey Javier Castellano behind horses for more than a half-mile to the wire, the 5-year-old son of Lookin At Lucky  found just enough to win the 1 5/8-mile test over the main track to get by longshot Turco Bravo late to win by three-quarters of a length.

It was the second consecutive marathon victory following his 12 1/4-length score Sept. 4 in the 1 1/2-mile Greenwood Cup Stakes (G3) at Parx Racing.

"I was a little concerned he wasn't really dragging Javier anywhere along the way like he did last time at Parx, but he was kind of in between horses," said winning trainer Todd Pletcher. "When Javier finally had the opportunity to get out and around, he reengaged himself and came with a good run down the lane to get there."

Off at 1-2, Madefromlucky stalked the pace in third behind early leader Let Me Go First, who set fractions of :25, :49.68, 1:14.88, and 1:39.69 through a mile. Scuba inherited the lead in the final turn, but had nothing left in the stretch, as Turco Bravo took command and still held a head in front with a furlong to run, but could not hold off the winner late. Madefromlucky finished off the distance in 2:44.88.

"He surprised me. He never takes me on the bridle," Castellano said. "I always have to ride him basically all the way on the backside. I guess because he was in between horses he wasn't too brave, and I'm lucky they moved kind of early a little bit by the three-eighths pole, and when they moved, I couldn't keep up with the pace.

"I took my time, and I put him outside when I saw it was clear. And (with) no horses around, he just took off again. I think the key with him (is) he just wants to be in the clear, and then you make your run."

Bred in Kentucky by RMF Thoroughbreds, out of the Pulpit mare Home From Oz, Madefromlucky now has more than $1.3 million in earnings to go along with a 6-5-5 record from 24 starts.

"We were kind of looking to see what his specialty might be and it kind of looks like these distances suit him," Pletcher said. "We only tried it one time before previously, in the Belmont (Stakes, G1), so it took a while to get back to it, but he seems to enjoy it."