When trainer Bobby Dibona saddled Actin Good for the $250,000 Pegasus Stakes (gr. III) on the Breeders’ Cup undercard at Monmouth Park Oct. 27, he respected the horse more than the bettors who sent him off at odds of 10-1. Actin Good rewarded Dibona’s faith with a gutsy frontrunning performance, fighting through a head-and-head stretch duel with Now A Victor to take the 1 1/8-mile event by a neck.
After the start of the race was momentarily delayed by Get Serious, who dropped his rider and was declared a late scratch, Actin Good broke first in the remaining field of five and led through early fractions of :24.43 and :49.41 under Cornelio Velasquez. Now A Victor sat just off the leader’s flank, while Slew’s Tizzy, Bwana Bull, and Helsinki strung out behind those two.
As they hit the far turn, Now A Victor made a bid for the lead and claimed it momentarily, but Actin Good fought back on the inside and reclaimed his position for a final time of 1:51.54.
The 3-year-old gelding came off a 3 3/4-length win in an allowance race at Suffolk Downs Sept. 22 for owners Leo-Sag Stables, G. Goldsmith and Greg and Jerrich Stable. Before that, his last start was in January, when he finished 14th in the Sunshine Millions Dash at Gulfstream Park as a colt. Dibona took Actin Good out of training to geld him and brought him back slowly. He is unbeaten since his return.
“I always thought he was one of the top 3-year-olds,” said Dibona. “He was having problems and mentally just couldn’t get it right, so I gelded him and he just really settled down and got all business-like. It was all by design, and he just showed the kind of horse he is – I always knew I had a very good one. We loved him all week; I really thought I was gonna win this race.”
Actin Good returned $23.80, $9.80, and $4.60 to win. Now A Victor, under Ramon Dominguez, paid $4.20 and $2.80 to place, while Slew’s Tizzy brought $3 to show. Helsinki and Bwana Bull rounded out the order of finish.
A 3-year-old bred in Florida by Johnson Hollow Farm by Yes It’s True out of the Colonial Affair mare Hollow Design, Actin Good now has a 3-2-2 record from nine starts. The Pegasus was his first graded win.
Actin Good holds on for victory in the Pegasus.
