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Repole Stable's Overanalyze was slowly away and banged around at the start of
Sunday's Grade 2, $200,000
Futurity,
but the Dixie Union colt regrouped in grand style to give trainer Todd Pletcher
a sweep of the day's stakes at Belmont Park. Uncorking a strong rally from last,
Overanalyze swamped his rivals down the stretch and pulled 3 1/4 lengths clear.
His final time of 1:11 2/5 for the six-furlong affair on the fast track was
about a tick off the winning time posted by stablemate Kauai Katie in the Grade
2 Matron for fillies. When the gate opened, Overanalyze was a bit tardy to move from post 4, then got bumped by Handsome Jack, who veered in from post 5. Meanwhile, as Overanalyze found himself lagging in the rear with John Velazquez, a contentious pace unfolded up front. The rail-drawn Carried Interest hustled out early, but angled off the fence, allowing Handsome Jack to come through along the inside. They argued through fractions of :22 4/5 and :46 2/5, with 9-5 favorite Weekend Hideaway pressing on the outside in third. |
Although Carried Interest gradually began to edge away from his pace rivals at the head of the lane, the more dramatic move was taking place wider out on the track. Overanalyze was taking off and gaining ground with every stride, surging past the leaders to earn his first stakes success.
Carried Interest held second by three-quarters of a length from Weekend Hideaway. Handsome Jack tired to fourth, trailed by Gulfport, Drum Roll and Special Jo.
Aside from rebounding from a poor start, Overanalyze was also bouncing back from a disappointing fourth in the Grade 2 Hopeful at Saratoga. Sent off as the 5-1 fourth choice here, the bay colt rewarded his backers with $13.60, $6.80 and $4.90.
"He didn't break," Velazquez recapped. "I'm thinking he'll come out of there running, and he's on the bit and, then the gate opened and the horse next to me went 'vroom.' He closed up really good. You have to be happy with the way he did it. He took a little dirt and came running. He did it really good."
"We were hoping to maybe be in a stalking-type position," Pletcher said, "but he didn't break great, then he got clobbered at the start and ended up way back. He recovered well and was running into the dirt, kept coming, showed a new dimension, finished really well and galloped out strongly. It was a pretty encouraging race."
Overanalyze had never been so far back in his short career. A front-running debut winner at Saratoga on August 9, he chased the quick early tempo in the Hopeful before fading to fourth. The abrupt step up from five to seven furlongs might have been a contributing factor in the Hopeful, and the drop back in trip here suited him well. He has now bankrolled $183,000 from his 3-2-0-0 record.
Any potential Breeders' Cup plans have yet to be determined.
"We'll see," Pletcher said. "We have a few things to figure out with a few of these (two-year-olds) and see how he comes out of it and go from there."
Bred by Diamond A. Racing Corp. in Kentucky, Overanalyze was a $380,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase. He is a half-brother to Meadow Breeze, who captured the 2006 Matron when it still held Grade 1 status. Another half-sibling, Mighty Monsoon, finished third in last year's Grade 2 Best Pal.
Overanalyze is out of the unraced Unaccounted For mare Unacloud, who is herself a half-sister to Ilusoria, the third-place finisher in the 2000 Matron. Ilusoria went on to produce multiple stakes heroine and Grade 3-placed Peak Maria's Way.