Uncle Benny made his turf debut a winning one, locking up a spot in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint with a last-to-first score in the Futurity S. Sunday at Belmont.
Going wire-to-wire at 9-10 in his main-track debut Aug. 24 at Monmouth, the $185,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga pickup dropped back to run last early as the narrow third choice here behind a :22.46 quarter. Sticking to the hedge until the five-sixteenths pole, he angled into the clear turning for home and put in a strong late charge to outkick longshot Backtohisroots at the finish.
“Around Monmouth time, I told people he was one of my best 2-year-olds, so we're high on him,” said winning trainer Jason Servis. “We think he's a nice horse, and he looks the part too. He's a big, good-looking horse. He's massive. He's got Storm Cat on the damside and his stallion won a couple of Grade I's I think in Europe on the grass, so I wasn't worried about the turf.”
Uncle Benny has a yearling half-sister by Uncle Mo and a weanling Air Force Blue half-sister. His dam was bred back to the latter sire this spring.
FUTURITY S., $150,000, Belmont, 10-7, 2yo, 6fT, 1:11.26, gd.
1–UNCLE BENNY, 118, c, 2, by Declaration of War
1st Dam: Celebrity Cat, by Storm Cat
2nd Dam: Starrer, by Dynaformer
3rd Dam: To the Hunt, by Relaunch
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. ($185,000 Ylg '17 FTSAUG). O-Ara
Aprahamian; B-Peter Magnier (KY); T-Jason Servis; J-Irad Ortiz,
Jr. $82,500. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $104,100.[bullet ad=”eaton-sold”]2–Backtohisroots, 118, c, 2, Mark Valeski–Great Family, by
Harlan's Holiday. ($6,500 RNA Ylg '17 KEESEP). O-Gatsas
Stables; B-Brereton C. Jones (KY); T-John P. Terranova II.
$30,000.[bullet ad=”legacy-bloodstock-congratulations”]3–Dragic, 115, f, 2, Broken Vow–Letgomyecho, by Menifee.
($100,000 Ylg '17 KEESEP). O-Steven Michael Bell; B-Betz, J.
Betz, Burns, CHNNHK Thoroughbreds, Magers, CoCo Equine &
Ramsby (KY); T-Wesley A. Ward. $18,000.
Margins: HF, 1HF, 4. Odds: 5.30, 56.75, 3.00.
Also Ran: Fayette Warrior, Bizzee Channel, Stole E, Veterans Beach, Neverland Rock (GB), Real Money, Swamp Rat, Joyful Heart. Scratched: Credit Swap. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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