Harlan Punch authoritative in Stymie
Divine Miss Grey wires her competition in Heavenly Prize
Making his second start in less than a week, Harlan Punch received a perfect trip for owner and trainer David Jacobson under the services of leading winter meet rider Dylan Davis, besting a field of seven to win the $150,000 Stymie on Saturday at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Breaking alertly from post 2, Harlan Punch comfortably stalked in second position as Hit It Once More set fractions of 23.79 seconds for the opening quarter-mile, with the half in 47.52.
Harlan Punch made his winning move at the quarter-pole, moving three wide to overtake Hit It Once More and was set down in full gear at the top of the stretch. He extended away to comfortably secure the victory by seven lengths.
He completed the one-mile distance in a final time of 1:38.03.
“I just played off the break,” said Davis. “I saw Rafael [Hernandez] was very aggressive with Hit It Once More [No. 4], so I just let him do his own thing. Once I come to the outside, he just got into his own stride and he took it all for himself.”
Sent off as the 9-5 post-time favorite, the son of Harlan’s Holiday returned $5.90 for a $2 win wager. He earned his third consecutive victory, following a pair of allowance optional claiming wins on February 15 and March 4, respectively. The 5-year-old increased his career earnings to $571,993.
“I didn’t discuss [the race] with Dylan,” said Jacobson. “I left him no instructions, I told him to use your gut, and figure it out, and the way he’s riding right now, who’s going to tell him what to do? Definitely not me.”
Backsideofthemoon closed strongly to finish second followed by Hit It Once More, Watershed, Fellowship, Vulcan’s Forge and Securitiz.
One race later, Corms Racing Stable’s Divine Miss Grey picked up her third straight...
