NEWS: RACING

In fourth try, Offering Plan gets up to win the West Point Stakes

Friday, August 23rd, 2019

NYRA/Joe Labozzetta

By Bill Heller

For Michael Dubb, Nantucket Thoroughbreds, Bethlehem Stables and Gary Aisquith’s seven-year-old New York-bred horse Offering Plan, the fourth time was the charm in the mile-and-a-sixteenth $150,000 West Point Stakes for New York-breds on grass on Friday’s Showcase Day at Saratoga Race Course. After finishing third by a neck to King Kreesa in the stakes in 2016, second to Get Jets in 2017 by a half length and second in last year’s stakes to Kharafa by the same margin, Offering Plan gamely rallied between horses under Javier Castellano to take the race by a neck. Sent off at 2-1 in the field of seven, Offering Plan won in 1:41.18.

“I’m so proud of him, at his age to come back another year and give a really good performance and finally win this race,” Offering Plan’s trainer Chad Brown said.

Dot Matrix, who was 5-2 under Joel Rosario, finished second, one length in front of 2-1 Therapist and Irad Ortiz Jr. Everyonelovesjames, who was 12-1 with Eric Cancel, finished fourth, a half-length behind Therapist.

C.W. Swann and Cygnet Farm bred Offering Plan, a son of Spring At Last out of Rosalie Road by Street Cry who is trained by Chad Brown. Offering Plan was dropping back to New York-bred company off a rallying seventh by three lengths in the Grade 3 Forbidden Apple Stakes at Belmont Park July 12th.

Castellano settled him in fourth Friday as Everyonelovesjames winged it on the front end, leading by two to 2 1/2 lengths through an opening quarter-mile in :23.02, a half-mile in :46.99 and three-quarters in 1:11.71.

Then the pack closed in as both Therapist and Dot Matrix gained quickly while Offering Plan needed a place to go. Castellano sent him between Therapist and Dot Matrix and Offering Plan surged to take a narrow lead on Dot Matrix. He held that narrow margin all the way to the wire to win the stakes which eluded him three times. [VIDEO REPLAY]

“I think the way he did it was phenomenal,” Castellano said. “I’m very proud of him. He’s an amazing horse, a real pro. He knows what he’s doing. I’ve been on him for his last 12 races and he always shows up. He never gives up. I’ve fallen in love with this horse.”

Offering Plan is now nine-for-27 in his all-turf career with five seconds, six thirds and earnings of more than $860,000.

“We’ll try to run him more at the end of this year, but it’s definitely his last year, I can tell you that,” Brown said. “He’s done a lot for us. We want to make sure he has a proper retirement.”

 

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