NYRA/Susie Raisher
By Sarah Mace
Reunited with regular jockey Mike Smith and back to his home oval, Effinex put his mysterious June 18 clunker in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs far behind him, with a repeat victory in the Grade 2, $500,000 Suburban Handicap on Stars & Stripes Saturday at Belmont Park. A resurgent Samraat, who set the pace, finished an ultra-game second to produce a New York-bred exacta in the prestigious 1 1/4-mile race.
When entries were drawn for the Suburban, trainer Jimmy Jerkens said “I don’t know what happened [to Effinex] last time [in the Stephen Foster, where he finished sixth as the 3-5 favorite under Gary Stevens]. He ran kind of wide. Maybe he didn’t like that, but we’ll give it another go.” Drawn in post four of seven, 122-pound highweight Effinex was 2-1 second choice by a nickle behind favorite Mubtaahij.
Effinex settled in second position after the break, a length behind a pacesetting Samraat (11-1), who carved out moderate early fractions of 25.31 and 49.34 after exiting post six.
The two New York-breds continued one-two for the length of the backstretch, but midway around the far turn Effinex began to press harder, coming up on even terms with his rival. The pair raced nose-to-nose approaching the quarter pole, and set up for a hammer-and-tongs battle to the wire.
The thrilling head-to-head tussle lasted the length of stretch, until Effinex surged in the final strides, to post a neck win over Samraat. Mubtaahij, who advanced a bid at the rail, finished 1 1/4 back in third. After a mile in 1:36.50, the final time of the race was 2:01.04. [VIDEO]
Mike Smith said, “He ran wonderful. I got him away good. I got to the outside and got in comfortable, and in a rhythm. He’s funny sometimes. You have to work with him, but I’ve been so lucky to ride him at the right time. The post was right; everything always seems to be right. I just got blessed again.”
NYRA/Chelsea Durand
Samraat’s jockey Jose Ortiz said, “Everything went like we planned. He broke great and I sent him to the lead. We set very good fractions for the distance. Mike [Smith] never let me go more than one or two lengths in front of him. He sat right there, half a length behind me, the whole way. When I asked him to go, he did. We sprinted home. I got beat by a nice horse. I’m glad to see Samraat back in form.”
Jimmy Jerkens commented, “All things came together. I guess [Effinex]’s a natural at a mile-and-a-quarter. He’s a grinder. It looks like he can out-grind anybody out there, it looks like. We’ll take it.”
This second Suburban win for Effinex also had a special place in the conditioner’s heart. “I always loved this race,” said Jerkens. “When I was a little kid, my father [late Hall of Famer Allen Jerkens] won this race a bunch of times with Beau Purple. He used to love to run in it any chance he could. He was a New York guy and those New York handicap races always meant a lot to him, and to me too. It’s great to win here.”
Dave Grening noted that “Effinex is the first horse to win back-to-back Suburbans since Devil His Due in 1993-94, who was trained by Allen Jerkens. In 1994, the horse was ridden by Mike Smith.”
As to the future for Effinex, Jerkens said, “You can’t rule anything out. [The Grade 1 Whitney on August 6 at Saratoga] is a little close. It all depends on how he’s doing, and who’s running. Sometimes it’s better just keep running.”
Effinex is a five-time graded stakes winner, topped by his victory last year the Grade 1 Clark and runner-up finish to Triple Crown hero American Pharoah in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, which earned him the title of New York-bred Horse of the Year. He has a record of nine wins, two seconds and four thirds in 22 starts with earnings of $2,962,950, which puts him third place on the all-time New York-bred earnings list, behind 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide ($3,529,412) and A Shin Forward, who raced exclusively in Japan ($3,421,360).
Bred by Dr. Russell S. Cohen and campaigned by his mother Bernice’s Tri-Bone Stables, Effinex is the only foal out of multiple stakes-winning Tri-Bone homebred What a Pear by E Dubai. What a Pear’s dam Perfect Pair was purchased by Tri-Bone as a juvenile at OBS in 1999 for $28,000. The stable is named after Cohen’s three sons, who called one another “bonehead” when they were growing up.
