NEWS: RACING

Ostrolenka pours it on in Mike Lee

Monday, May 25th, 2015
NYRA/Adam Coglianese

NYRA/Adam Coglianese

by Sarah Mace

Evidently Eric Fein’s homebred Ostrolenka (Musket Man) can do nothing wrong at Belmont Park, or at least hasn’t to date. In Monday’s Memorial Day edition of Big Apple Showcase Day, the bay colt ran up his record to a perfect four for four at the Elmont racetrack with a commanding victory in the $125,000 Mike Lee Stakes for state-bred 3-year-olds at seven furlongs.

A homebred for Eric Fein and co-owned with Fein by Christopher McKenna, 7-5 favorite Ostrolenka got out of post two sharply and set up in a stalking position behind narrow second choice Wincoma, who shot to the front after breaking from post seven and proceeded to carve out testing fractions of 22.09 and 44.86.

NYRA/Joe Labozzetta

NYRA/Joe Labozzetta

Switching from the rail out to the two path along the backstretch, and biding his time through the far turn, Ostrolenka drew even with Wincoma at the quarter pole, threw down the gauntlet and took command in upper stretch.

The swift pace ultimately took its toll on Wincoma, who began to fade, but Ostrolenka only picked up steam. He opened up his advantage to a final, emphatic 2-length margin of victory in 1:23.65. Good Luck Gus (9-1) rallied to get second in his sophomore debut, while Battle of Evermore (6-1) got up for third. Completing the order of finish were Gypsum Johnny, Wincoma, Possessed, Regal Minister, Fleeting and Papa Shot. [VIDEO]

Winning jockey John Velazquez reported, “I had a perfect trip; it worked out the way I thought it would with [Wincoma] going to the lead. I pressed him a little bit to make sure he didn’t go too easy on me, and after that my horse did it easily.”

A maiden-breaker in his second career start by more than 14 lengths at Belmont Park on September 28, Ostrolenka won the Sleepy Hollow on Empire Showcase Day next out. After faltering in a pair of graded stakes efforts in the Grade 2 Remsen and Grade 3 Jerome at Aqueduct, he got back on track in April and May with two strong state-bred allowance performances, finishing second at a mile two starts back and winning by four lengths at 1 1/16 miles on May 2.

Byron Hughes, assistant to trainer Todd Pletcher, added, “[Cutting back to seven furlongs] helped him and it was also very impressive in how he did it. Not too many horses can keep that kind of speed up and run like he did when he came back like that.”

Hughes also thought the race tactics were key. “We knew [Wincoma] had sprinter speed and it worked out kind of ideal the way Javier [Castellano, on Wincoma] came down on the rail and we got the outside position on him. It kind of worked out better for us.”

A two-time stakes winner, Ostrolenka now sports a record of four wins and a second from eight starts and has earned $322,292. Foaled at Waldorf Farm in North Chatham, he is one of five winners from five foals to start out of Pumpkin’s Pride, a winning sprinter by Louis Quatorze and half-sister to multiple stakes-winner Gesture (Italy). Pumpkin’s Pride is also the dam of multiple stakes-placed Great Gracie Dane, earner of over $344,000. The mare currently as a yearling filly by Malibu Moon and was bred to Flatter last year, with no foal yet reported.

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