Phileas Fogg clearly the best in Listed $150K Excelsior

Phileas Fogg had never traveled 1 1/4 miles, but the distance presented no problem as he made light work of the Listed $150,000 Excelsior under Kendrick Carmouche at Aqueduct Racetrack on Saturday to notch his fourth win and second stakes race in five efforts.

Phileas Fogg, a 5-year-old gelding who was claimed for $62,500 by trainer Gustavo Rodriguez for owner Jupiter Stable in July at Saratoga Race Course, flashed his trademark speed right out of the gate and took on Mama's Gold as they established position far in front of the rest of the seven-horse field of horses 4-years-old and upward. 

Traveling up the backside, Mama's Gold, under Romero Maragh, had drawn off by daylight but as he raced into the far turn, Phileas Fogg was inhaling the leader. Coming out of the turn with a quarter-mile left to race, Phileas Fogg was seven lengths in front and then he cruised through the stretch while leaving the competition in his wake.

Taking advantage of quick splits of 22.88 seconds, 46.65, 1:11.78 set by Mama's Gold and 1:36.75 for the mile, Phileas Fogg covered the distance in the final time of 2:01.69 on the fast track. He crossed the wire 5 1/4 lengths in front of Classic Catch with Masmak another 1 1/2 lengths back in third. Phileas Fogg returned $15.20 for a $2 wager.

The win was No. 4,001 for Carmouche, who earlier on the card reached the career milestone of 4,000 wins when he was victorious on Whisper Hill Farm’s Crimson Light, and it put an exclamation point on the veteran rider's banner four-win day. 

"He just feels so good,” Carmouche said. “I knew the outside horse was going to be pressing, so thought I would come out of there running to make more of a pace and I just settled my horse outside. He just galloped around there, man. Oh, man, the feeling I was getting at the half-a-mile, I said, ‘no one’s going to beat me.

“I knew that horse is a one-trick pony and goes to the lead every time,” Carmouche said of Mama's Gold. “He had to come back, that’s the way I looked at it. This is the first time he [Phileas Fogg] really came off the pace to win, so we know that now. [The distance] is beautiful.”

Phileas Fogg came into the Excelsior fresh from a runner-up finish in a 1 1/8-mile allowance on this track on January 25. During his three-race winning streak after being haltered, he was a gate-to-wire winner of the Queen's County here by eight lengths.

“Listen, I told everybody that asked me what I thought, I said, 'We are coming into the race as good as we can,'” Rodriguez said. “Listen, like I told my owner, this horse is good on the slop and is good on the fast track, too. He is a nice horse.”

When Mama's Gold ran out such a big lead, the trainer said it played right into his plan.

"Kendrick, when we were ready to give him a leg up, he goes, 'Listen, I've got this plan- Mama's Gold is going to go way, way too fast. We are going to maybe take back and then go after,” recalled Rodriguez.

Classic Catch, a Todd Pletcher trainee taking a jump in class from the optional claiming ranks, closed strongly to be second while piloted by fellow Hall of Famer Javier Castellano.

“It set up beautiful for my horse, a come-from-behind horse. He had a target to run at, and I saw the pacemaker went pretty quick on the lead,” Castellano said. “I’m very proud of my horse and the way he finished, the way he did it the last part of the race galloping out really good. The farther, the better. He’s an old pro. He always tries hard and he does everything the right way.”

Phileas Fogg is a son of Astern out of the More Than Ready mare Merino and was bred in Kentucky by Godolphin. He has started 16 times with a record of 8-3-0 and career earnings of $466,773. Since the successful transfer to Rodriguez, he has now won 4-of-5 starts and two stakes races.

Owner Steve Shapiro credited Rodriguez for the claim.

"He's saved me from a lot of bad claims, because he has a great eye in the paddock for horses that have problems,” Shapiro said. “A lot of times, I'll pick a horse and he'll say 'No, no, no...' And I listen to him. This one I picked out, and he blessed it, and we've done great with him.

“I've had seven trainers in my life including two Hall of Famers, this guy is as good as any of them,” Shapiro continued. “He gets respect from the vets, the best blacksmiths, the best help. He works seven days a week. He is at the barn at 5 a.m. and he could use a few more horses. He is training 15 right now and I highly recommend him, give him a call. He is in barn 15 at Belmont."

Definitive plans for the horse's next start are to be determined, but Shapiro said the Grade 2, $400,000 Suburban on July 4 during the July 4 Racing Festival at Saratoga is on the radar.

“Probably the Suburban. I don't know if there will be anything between now and then, but at least the Suburban,” Shapiro said.
 
The final order of finish was Phileas Fogg, Classic Catch, Masmak, Crupi, Batten Down, Curbstone, and Mama's Gold. Film Star was scratched.

Live racing resumes Sunday with a 10-race card that features the $125,000 Biogio’s Rose in Race 4 and the $125,000 Haynesfield in Race 9. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct Racetrack spring meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule/.
 
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