Hogy Holds His Own in Sharp Hanshin Cup Tally

Hogy pounced on the leaders coming out of the turn and took command in the stretch to register his first graded stakes win with an 8-1 upset in the $150,000 Hanshin Cup Stakes (gr. III) May 25 at Arlington Park (VIDEO) .

Jockey Chris Emigh had the former claimer poised to strike in third on the outside behind dueling pacesetters Hammers Terror and Nates Mineshaft rounding the bend. The 4-year-old Offlee Wild gelding made an eye-catching bid when asked to get control in the lane. After leading by two lengths mid-stretch, he staved off the late charge of Mister Marti Gras when pressed in the final furlong to win by 1 1/2 lengths.

"We knew there were a couple of speed horses in it and this race was wide open," Emigh said. "I got in the perfect spot where I wanted to be on the outside and he started dragging me turning for home."

The final time for the one-turn mile Polytrack event was a solid 1:34.25.

Hogy, who was supplemented to the Hanshin Cup, rebounded from a sixth-place finish in the 5 1/2-furlong Shakertown Stakes (gr. IIIT) on the Keeneland turf April 13 with his third win in six tries over Arlington's all-weather main track.

Scott Becker claimed Hogy for $80,000 out of a turf win at Hawthorne Racecourse Nov. 1 and trains him for owner William Stiritz. Hogy previously raced for trainer Joe Berndt.

A $17,000 buy in Keeneland January 2010 sale, the dark bay was bred in Kentucky by Dr. John E. Little out of the Petionville mare Floy.

Mister Marti Gras, who closed into fractions of :23.30, :45.73, and 1:10.99 under Eduardo Perez, was a clear second by 5 3/4 lengths over Hammers Terror and James Graham. Seruni, the 5-2 favorite in the evenly matched field of nine older colts and geldings, ran on for fourth.

"I was in the one-hole and he prefers to be on the outside," noted Mike Smith, who was aboard the beaten favorite. "We were trying to work our way out the whole time."

Hogy, who had two stakes victories for his former connections, won for the second time in three starts this year. He began the season with an allowance score on a sloppy track at Hawthorne March 10. The latest victory pushed his record on synthetic tracks to 4-1-2 in nine starts.

Overall, Hogy boasts a record of 9-2-2 from 16 races with earnings of $332,802.

Carrying 118 pounds, Hogy paid $18.40, $8, and $5 for the win, combining with Mister Marti Gras ($4.40, $2.60) for a $75.80 exacta. Hammers Terror returned $5.60.

Seruni was followed by Patrioticandproud, Hattaash, Night Party, All Stormy, and multiple graded stakes winner Nates Mineshaft, who stopped in the stretch. Scatman scratched.