Catholic Boy Re-Rallies to Take Pennine Ridge
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Susie Raisher
Catholic Boy (outside) gets by Analyze It at the wire in the Pennine Ridge Stakes at Belmont Park
The race was over.
Undefeated Analyze It went by Catholic Boy in the Belmont Park stretch during the $200,000 Pennine Ridge Stakes (G3T) June 2 and opened up a clear lead.
But Catholic Boy, who was in an unfamiliar position on the lead through much of the 1 1/8-mile test, angled to the outside under jockey Javier Castellano, re-rallied, and surged past the 1-5 favorite to win by a neck at the wire.
"He's been nothing but reliable," winning trainer Jonathan Thomas said of the three-time graded victor. "We have asked him a lot of questions. I'm proud of his effort and his tenacity."
Analyze It—who came into the Pennine Ridge with three wins from three starts, including a pair of impressive grade 3 scores by open lengths—appeared home from the quarter pole to the wire after a stalking trip behind the pacesetter, but he could not hold off his rival late. Analyze It's jockey, Jose Ortiz, lodged an objection against Catholic Boy after some contact in the stretch that appeared to be initiated by his mount. The Belmont stewards left the result as is.
"I don't think he did anything wrong," said Analyze It's trainer, Chad Brown. "I guess he got whipped in the face on the turn, but it was before all the stuff happened. He's steered clear and alone in his races before when he's been in front. I'll just have to regroup with the horse and see why he did that today."
In his six races before the Pennine Ridge, Catholic Boy had never been in front early. The closest he came to being on the lead was when he raced in third, a length and a half behind the leaders, through a half-mile in the Feb. 10 Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3). He stalked and pounced in both of his previous graded wins—the With Anticipation Stakes (G3T) and the Remsen Stakes (G2) in 2017.
But with a break from the inside, the game plan Saturday for the More Than Ready colt was to take it to the heavy favorite.
"If we were going to beat Analyze It, I wanted to get control of the pace and make that horse come off the bridle and keep contact with us," Thomas said. "If we turned it into a sprint and walked the dog, I was afraid we wouldn't out-foot him, so I wanted (to) go ahead (and) send our horse."
So Castellano sent Catholic Boy to the front, and the pair set fractions of :23.71, :47.76, and 1:10.17 through six furlongs, with a one-length lead. Analyze It had a one-length advantage through a mile in 1:33.18 before Catholic Boy hit the wire in 1:45.78 on firm turf.
"A few horses scratched, and we thought the only way to win would be to be aggressive and dictate the pace—to go to the lead and race ride," Castellano said. "That's exactly what I did. I put him on the lead and tried to open up and let (Analyze It) catch me."
Channel Cat closed from last in the five-horse field to finish third, 4 1/4 lengths behind Analyze It. Untamed Domain and Irish Territory completed the order of finish.
Bred in Kentucky by Fred Hertrich III and John Fielding, out of the Bernardini mare Song of Bernadette, Catholic Boy has four wins from seven starts and $522,000 in earnings for owners Robert LaPenta, Madaket Stables, Siena Farm, and Twin Creeks Racing Stables.