NEWS: RACING

Good Luck Gus wins Albany to give Saez three straight victories

Friday, August 28th, 2015
NYRA/Adam Coglianese

NYRA/Adam Coglianese

by Bill Heller

Benefitting from a fine ride by red-hot Luis Saez, Michael Dubb, Bethlehem Stable and The Elkstone Group’s colt Good Luck Gus edged One Sided by a half-length to win the 38th running of the $250,000 Albany Stakes for three-year-old New York-breds, the highlight of Showcase Day for New York-breds at Saratoga Friday afternoon. Good Luck Gus gave Saez his third consecutive victory Friday following a maiden win aboard Heated Verdict and an upset in the $150,000 Yaddo Stakes on The Tea Cups.

Asked if the previous two wins helped his confidence in the Albany, Saez said, “That was big. We’re so happy to win here.”

Rudy Rodriguez trains Good Luck Gus, a son of Lookin At Lucky out of Tacticmove by Deputy Minister who was bred by Fred Hetrich III and sold for $97,000 as a yearling at Saratoga in August, 2013. Good Luck Gus had won two stakes before the Albany, the $252,000 New York Breeders Futurity at Finger Lakes and the $100,000 Damon Runyon at Aqueduct to conclude his two-year-old season on Dec. 14th.

Rodriguez gave Good Luck Gus the winter and early spring off. He made his three-year-old debut at Belmont Park May 25th, finishing second by two lengths in the $125,000 Mike Lee Stakes. On July 3rd at Finger Lakes, Good Luck Gus finished fourth by 3 ¾ lengths to Force.

“We thought he had a lot of ability,” Dubb said in the winner’s circle. “We figured this (the Albany) was our objective.”

Bettors sent him off at 7-2 on the rail in the Albany. One Sided, who was ridden by Javier Castellano, went off at 5-2 and Force, who broke from the outside post in the field of six, was the 2-1 favorite under Jose Lezcano.

NYRA/Adam Mooshian

NYRA/Adam Mooshian

Javier Castellano shot One Sided to the lead from the two post and Lezcano placed Force a neck behind him on his outside in a very slow pace: a quarter in :25.30. Bellamy Way, who went off at 9-2 under Joel Rosario, raced in third and Good Luck Gus was fourth.

“The plan was we were going to be behind the speed, and when we made the move, hopefully we would have the horse,” Saez said.

Lezcano didn’t wait on Force, who took a half-length lead on One Sided after a half-mile in a pokey :50.23. Force couldn’t clear One Sided through three-quarters in 1:14.33. Bellamy Way remained in third while Good Luck Gus, who had fallen back to fifth, began his rally.

One Sided gamely came back on Force’s inside to re-take the lead after a mile in 1:38.30 while Good Luck Gus, who had moved into third, kept coming on the far outside. Inside the sixteenth pole, Good Luck Gus made the lead and won by a half-length.

One Sided saved second, a length ahead of Bellamy Way in third. Force was another length and a quarter back in fourth. [VIDEO]

Castellano told One Sided’s trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Mike Repole he might have done things differently, but Repole brushed that aside, telling Castellano, “You did a great job.”

So did Rodriguez. “He was coming into this race very good,” he said. “We were pointing him to this race all along.”

Good Luck Gus improved his record to four-for-10 with three seconds and earnings of more than $510,000.

 

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