Making his 20th start Nov. 29 in the Fall Highweight Handicap (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack, 5-year-old Share the Ride picked up his first graded stakes win for trainer Antonio Arriaga and owner Silvino Ramirez.
Ridden by Jose Ortiz, Share the Ride broke in lockstep with Tribecca, who was sent to the front by jockey Kendrick Carmouche. Share the Ride was eased back into second and tracked the pace as Tribecca set early fractions of :23.03 and :46.14 for the half-mile.
At the half-mile, Share the Ride cut the leader's fraction down to a head and was in a position to draw on even terms exiting the far turn. The two were neck and neck at the top of the lane before Share the Ride was set down for the drive by Ortiz and began to dig in to the wire.
Despite the pressure from Share the Ride, Tribecca continued to fight back, and the pair dueled well into midstretch. But with little left in the tank, Tribecca weakened in the final strides and allowed Stan the Man the opportunity to make his own run at Share the Ride in the three path. Share the Ride was able to hold off his late-running rival and win by three-quarters of a length in 1:10.62 on the fast track. Absentee, who raced just off the pace in fourth for most of the race, also made a last-minute move for the front but could not get better than third.
"Everybody had a little extra weight today, but my horse was very game. It was a great training job. This horse was 100% ready," Ortiz said. "He broke well and sat second and relaxed. I asked him to go passing the three-eighths pole to engage Tribecca. I wanted to be close to him at the quarter pole because he's hard to beat on the lead and he digs in. I was in good range to win the race, and they battled down the lane; two good horses in a match race and then the other horses were coming, too, at the end, but he dug in."
"I had a decent trip," said jockey Eric Cancel, who was aboard runner-up Stan the Man. "They didn't go as quick as I thought they would, but the horse ran great and made up a lot of ground. He never stopped running. He's a horse that always tries to the end."
Tribecca took fourth, followed by Drafted, Arch Cat, and Majestic Dunhill to complete the order.
Bred in Kentucky by Dixiana Farms, Share the Ride is out of the Graeme Hall mare Belle of the Hall. The dark bay gelding entered the race off a victory in a Nov. 18 allowance race at Parx Racing. His only previous stakes win came Sept. 12 at Monmouth Park, where he took the Mr. Prospector Stakes.
Share the Ride has an 8-3-4 record from 20 starts with $369,860 in earnings.
