Adam Coglianese
Escapefromreality won the featured $150,000 Albany Stakes on Wednesday at Saratoga Race Course when he absolutely refused to give up the lead to odds-on favorite Amberjack, who was making a bid to sweep the Big Apple Triple series for New York-bred 3-year-olds.
Dominick Schettino, who trains Escapefromreality for co-owners Mary Ellen Bonomo’s MeB Racing Stables LLC and breeder Anthony Bonomo’s Brooklyn Boyz Stables, had pointed to the 1 1/8-mile Albany after the gelded son of Read the Footnotes came back after a freshening to win a seven-furlong first-level state-bred allowance / optional claimer by 3 1/2 lengths on July 4.
Schettino said “Our plan from July 4 was to run him in this race. Javier [Castellano] has been working him every time, and he had been training up to this race in excellent shape.”
Debra Roma
Stumbling slightly at the start from post two, Escapefromreality (3-1) wasted no time in claiming the top spot from Smooth Bert to his inside, who was first out the gate. Escapefromreality opened up a length lead through the clubhouse turn and set about controlling the pace, as Amberjack tugged his way up into second to track a length back along the backstretch run.
As Escapefromreality ticked off a moderate half-mile in 49.30, Amberjack began to press harder on the outside, coming up to his rival’s flank and sticking there through the turn and upper stretch, but Escapefromreality kept working to preserve his lead.
As Amberjack kept on pressing in the stretch, Escapefromreality dug in deeper, repulsed his rival’s every attempt to draw even and, in the end, outlasted Amberjack to hit the wire with a two-length advantage, stopping the clock after nine furlongs at 1:51.61. Runner-up Amberjack finished 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Smooth Bert in third.
Winning jockey Javier Castellano, aboard for the win in the July 4 allowance, said “It worked out great. The way it set up, the pace was phenomenal for myself and my horse. The way I handicapped the race, there could have been other horses going to the lead. I broke out of the gate on top, and it worked out great. When I see the other horse, the heavy favorite [Amberjack], look like he was going to go by, I was very fortunate my horse had something left in the tank. When I used him a little bit, he responded so well. I’m very satisfied the way he did it today.”
Schettino said, “I left the race up to Javier, depending on how he broke out of the gate. This horse, when he’s in front, he tries to stay in front. Amberjack is a nice horse, too. It was a great race.”
Debra Roma
After congratulating the winning connections, Amberjack’s trainer Mike Hushion said, “We were in the right place, laying second to [Escapefromreality]. It was his race to take at the top of the stretch if he was good enough today. Tip our hat to the winner and try to figure out how we can beat him the next time. I think he was second-best. It looks like that when you can’t catch the winner sometimes.”
Junior Alvarado, also Amberjack’s pilot for the Mike Lee before handing over the reins to Jose Espinoza for the New York Derby, said, “He ran good, he tried; he was in a perfect spot. He just didn’t go by the other horse today. Now the other horse, he ran pretty good, too. I don’t really have much excuse. I think my horse ran great, he did his best, but he couldn’t go by the other horse today.”
In the fourteen years since Belmont’s seven-furlong Mike Lee, Finger Lakes’ 1 1/16-mile New York Derby and Saratoga’s nine-furlong Albany have been run as the Big Apple Triple series, three other horses have won the first two legs without sweeping the series: Image Maker in 2000 (fourth in the Albany), Ferocious Won in 2006 (sixth in the Albany) and Chief’s Lake in 2007 (third in the Albany). A bonus of $250,000 is offered to the connections of a horse who wins all three races. The only horse to sweep the series was the late Tin Cup Chalice, who took all three races in 2008.
Retiring Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings presents Albany trophy to the winning connections (Debra Roma)
Escapefromreality broke his maiden impressively last November on the Aqueduct main track in his debut against state-breds. After missing a repeat victory next out against state-bred winners by just a neck on the inner on December 28, he stepped up in class in Aqueduct’s Grade 3, $200,000 Withers on February 2. In the Withers, he far outran his 16-1 odds, finishing second by a neck and nearly going home with all the marbles save for some last-to-first heroics by 3-5 favorite Revolutionary. Off the board following a rough trip in the Grade 3 Gotham on March 2, Escapefromreality was freshened until his July fourth allowance victory.
Escapefromreality’s first stakes win improves his record to 3-2-0 from 7 starts and brings his earnings to $210,534.
Foaled at Meadow View Thoroughbreds in Canajoharie, Escapefromreality is the first foal from Queen of the City, an unraced New York-bred daughter of Medaglia d’Oro bred by Frank Mancini.
Queen of the City, whose first and second dam were stakes placed, was purchased by Anthony Bonomo for $52,000 at the 2007 Fasig-Tipton New York-bred preferred yearling sale. Her only other reported foal is a 2-year-old filly by Utopia named Utopia’s Irish Rose, who has not started. Queen of the City has since changed hands, purchased by MR Racing at the 2012 Keeneland January sale for $11,000.
Read the Footnotes is a former top-ten New York sire for Sequel Stallions, where he stood from 2006 to 2011 before relocating to Oklahoma for the 2012 breeding season.
