Last Wednesday at Belmont had something of an Irish air to it. Leo O'Brien has now gotten two straight wins out of Suzann Bobley's Pretty Boy Freud since returning the 5-year-old gelding to the main track. He won the Corma Ray Stakes there after posting a 50-1 upset at Saratoga on Travers Day. While the odds-on chalk were taking the starch out of each other on the front end, Irad Ortiz, Jr. bided his time on the O'Brien charge before closing on the tiring leaders around the far turn. Pretty Boy Freud then drew off to win by six lengths under a hand ride for an $18.60 win mutuel and $32.80 to place as the heavy favorites finished up the track.
In the sixth race, New York attorney Tom Moore got a thrill when his first-time starter, Summer Front bounded home the winner by one and one-half lengths under Ramon Dominguez. The 2-year-old colt was no surprise to the public, as he paid $6.20 in this maiden special weight sprint over the lawn. Moore is a Waterford native.
Eddie Kenneally, another Waterford émigré, then closed out the Wednesday card at Belmont Park by saddling Anstu Stable's One Note Samba to a 3-length victory in the ninth race. The 4-year-old gelding was recently turned over to Kenneally, and he extended his win streak to three with his victory in this $35,000 claiming sprint on the grass. Todd Pletcher had him previously, and One Note Samba is now 3-for-3 on the turf. He paid $6.40 to win here and was not claimed.
O'Brien also got a win on the Thursday card when his son-in-law, jockey John Velazquez, kept Newcal Stable's Calico Mountain in front every step of the way to defeat a half-dozen other maiden claimers in a main-track sprint. The winner, which paid $7.90, was making his sixth career start. As for his trainer, he doubled his win output for the year over the 2-day span.
FRUITFUL WEEK
FOR LYNCH
The fruit looked ripe for the picking at Laurel, so Cathal Lynch shipped a trio of runners down from Philly on Wednesday to glide through the mud. Tonto, a 2-year-old colt owned by Peachtree Stable, delivered the goods as the 11-10 choice in the first race, a maiden sprint for dime claimers at a flat mile. He led all the way under Oliver Castillo in his third career attempt, after two off-the-board finishes against pricier company. He paid $4.20 to win.
Lynch then finished second in the fifth race with Crosseyed, but was back in the winner's circle after the seventh race when his own Wiki held on under Castillo to prevail by a neck in an off-the-turf, second-level allowance mile. That's three wins in a row now for Wiki and five of 10 lifetime for the 4-year-old gelding, all with Lynch, under whom he debuted for a claiming tag back in January. Wiki returned $5.20 to win.
None of this is to suggest that there weren't opportunities for the Lynch barn to prosper at its home base. Why, they knocked out a couple wins at Parx on Tuesday, as well. But Lynch's biggest payday came on Saturday with a third-place finish in the $750,000 Cotillion at Parx by David and Margaret Wimer's Daring Reality. The 72-1 shot collected $85,050 for her connections, pushing her career earnings over $200,000.
Lynch then topped off his week with a win, courtesy of Goldmark's Ad Litem, in Philly's first race on Sunday.
