NYRA/Adam Coglianese
Aliyu Ben J Stables’ seven-year-old homebred Lubash (Freud), the elder statesman in the battle of the New York-bred turf Titans at Belmont Park on Sunday – aka the $125,000 Ashley T. Cole – avenged his head loss to King Kreesa at the Spa in the August 24 West Point by running down his rival in deep stretch to secure a narrow victory from off the pace.
The win was Lubash’s second Cole win, seventh stakes tally and eleventh career victory. With his $75,000 share of the purse he boosted his earnings yet nearer to the $1 million dollar threshold: $911,079.
Lubash, the 2-1 second choice, settled early in the back of the five-horse field and enjoyed a groundsaving trip four lengths off the pace while King Kreesa, the 7-5 favorite, flashed his customary speed, securing both the lead and rail before entering the clubhouse turn,
Unhurried along the backstretch while Kharafa pressed King Kreesa up front, Lubash started to gear up around the far turn and came off the rail.
NYRA/Adam Coglianese
Angling out at the top of the stretch, Lubash turned all business, pinning his ears, making up ground and passing Kharafa in midstretch. He then set about eroding King Kreesa’s lead. The two raced briefly in tandem, before Lubash edged ahead to get the win by neck. The final time for 1 1/8 miles over the “good” Belmont inner turf course was 1:47.82. The game King Kreesa crossed the line 2 3/4 lengths clear of Kharafa in third. Completing the order of finish were Front and Notacatbutallama. [VIDEO]
Junior Alvarado, Lubash’s regular rider since his close runner-up finish to Kharafa in last year’s Ashley T. Cole, said, “He’s such a good horse. He might not win every time, but he always shows up. When I turned for home and saw it was [King Kreesa] ahead of me, I thought, ‘Oh, no, I have to catch that one?’ But he tried his best like always and came through.”
Trainer Christophe Clement added, with a nod to the quality of the competition, “He’s a sound horse and he tries very hard. Junior has a good relationship with the horse; he knows him inside out. This is fun. This is a very good group of New York-bred turf horses. King Kreesa and Kharafa are always tough.”
After racing at three and four for James Ryerson, Lubash moved to the Clement Barn in 2012. In 20 starts for team Clement Lubash has won six races, including the West Point, Ashley T. Cole twice and Grade 3 Fort Marcy. He has been sharp this year, with a record of three wins and two seconds from five starts.
Foaled at Carapan Farm, Lubash is the most successful offspring of Nasty Cure, a stakes-placed daughter of Cure the Blues ($153,122), who has produced five multiple winners including stakes-placed New York-bred Netcong by Meadow Flight, who started 87 times and banked $327,924.
