Boisterous takes control in the Knickerbocker Stakes.
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Phipps Stable's homebred Boisterous ran like an even-money favorite should in the $150,000 Knickerbocker Stakes (gr. IIIT) Oct. 13 at Belmont Park, looping the field on the far turn and inhaling the frontrunners in deep stretch to score by two lengths (VIDEO).
The 5-year-old son of Distorted Humor , who also took the Knickerbocker in 2011, returned to winning ways after a ninth-place finish in the Aug. 18 Arlington Million (gr. IT) at Arlington Park. He took the 1 1/8-mile turf event in 1:50.26 for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey under jockey Jose Lezcano.
"He runs good over this course," said McGaughey's assistant, Buzz Tenney. "Jose got him in a good position early in the race, and I think that's the key with him. I think he likes to get in position early, be patient, and find a hole to finish through."
Off alertly at the start, Boisterous settled with a rail trip in fourth as Stormy Lord went a quarter in :24.72 and a half in :49.37, with Bombaguia and Tune Me In tracking along. Lezcano let the field move on after three-quarters in 1:13.98, slipping outward while sixth as Stormy Lord led the way into the homestretch.
"In the middle of the turn when everybody moved, I still had a hold," Lezcano said. "I didn't get shuffled back; I let them go. I didn't want to move yet. When I swung out, he gave me the kick I expected him to give me. He finished very good."
Tipped outside nearing the quarter pole, Boisterous readily kicked by his rivals, including runner-up See Tobe and third-place finisher Tune Me In. Following home were Stormy Lord, Bombaguia, Sky Blazer, and Barocci. Freud's Honour was scratched.
Last year at Belmont, Boisterous won the Three Coins Up overnight stakes and was third in the grade I Man o' War prior to his Knickerbocker victory in the fall. He concluded his 2011 season, in which he was 4-0-1 in seven starts, with a win in the Red Smith Handicap (gr. IIT) at Aqueduct Racetrack.
This year, Boisterous won the Fort Marcy (gr. IIIT) in May at Belmont in his second start of the season. He entered this year's renewal of the Knickerbocker with a third in the Woodford Reserve Manhattan Handicap (gr. IT) in June at Belmont and a second in the Arlington Handicap (gr. IIIT) in July also on his resume.
Boisterous, bred in Kentucky out of the Cox's Ridge mare Emanating, is 8-1-2 in 20 total starts, with earnings of $646,390.
