NEWS: RACING

Brother O’Connell holds off Tapitation in Off-the-Turf Mohawk Stakes

Saturday, October 22nd, 2016

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By Bill Heller

Tenaciously holding on to a narrow lead the length of the stretch under John Velazquez, Donegal Racing’s four-year-old colt Brother O’Connell held off favored Tapitation and Manny Franco by a neck in the 38th running of the mile-and-a-sixteenth $200,000 Mohawk Stakes switched from turf to the sloppy main track on Showcase Day Saturday at Belmont Park. Brother O’Connell, who had finished out of the money in his only two dirt starts, was 9-2 and Tapitation the even money favorite in the field of five.

Macagone, who was 3-1 under Joel Rosario in his first start on dirt, finished third, 3 ½ lengths behind Tapitation. You needed a telescope to find 3-1 King Kreesa and Jose Ortiz in fourth.

Brother O’Connell, a son of Giant’s Causeway out of Shared the Dreams by Seeking the Gold, was bred by Sarah Leigh and sold for $125,000 as a yearling at Keeneland in September, 2013. Christophe Clement trained Brother O’Connell through his 2015 season before he was switched to trainer Tom Morley’s barn.

New York Racing Association officials waited until early afternoon before deciding to switch both the Mohawk and the Ticonderoga off the turf to the sloppy track.

The Mohawk was supposed to have been the latest, and possibly the last match-up of three New York-bred turf millionaires, nine-year-old Lubash and seven-year-olds King Kreesa and Kharafa.

Collectively, they had won 13 of the last 15 major New York-bred turf stakes the past four years. The Mohawk was No. 16, but only King Kreesa, who was off the board in his only prior dirt start, made it to the starting gate after the surface switch.

Tapitaion was the only horse in the field of five who had ever won a race on dirt and he was made the solid favorite. He had a win and a second from two prior starts on wet tracks.

Brother O’Connell had finished seventh and fourth in two prior dirt races. “I had a feeling he could handle it,” Morley said.

Indeed he did under Velazquez, Brother O’Connell’s sixth different jockey in his eighth start this year. “Johnny gave him an absolute peach of a ride,” Morley said.

Brother O’Connell had to work past King Kreesa to take the lead after a first quarter in :24.03. Brother O’Connell led King Kreesa by a half-length after a half-mile in :48.15. He maintained that advantage through three-quarters in 1:13.68 before Tapitation, who had been alternating in third and fourth, split Brother O’Connell and King Kreesa.

Tapitation had all the momentum when he hooked up with Brother O’Connell, but Brother O’Connell refused to wild after a mile in 1:40.11. Tapitation kept trying, but he couldn’t get to Brother O’Connell, who won in 1:47.23.

“As soon as Tapitation came to him, I didn’t think he’d get by,” Morley said. “Johnny said to me, “I’m more tired than the horse because he can just keep on going.”

Velazquez was impressed with Brother O’Connell’s resolve. “When the other horse came to him, he started fighting so hard,” Velazquez said.
Brother O’Connell, who is four-for-11 on grass with one second and one third, increased his lifetime earnings to more than $290,000.

Morley said Brother O’Connell will ship to The Fair Grounds in New Orleans for the winter. “We’ll target state-bred stakes when we come back,” Morley said.

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