Fort Bragg Edges Saudi Crown in Dwyer Thriller

It can surely be said that the $200,000 Dwyer Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park was a microcosm of the battle to be named champion of the 3-year-old male division. In a year with three separate Triple Crown winners and a 2-year-old champ who was second in his lone classic start, the razor-thin differential in the crop was akin to the battle between the victorious Fort Bragg and Saudi Crown in the July 1 mile stakes. Once Fort Bragg, the 3-5 favorite for trainer Bob Baffert, drew alongside Saudi Crown at the 5/16ths pole the two rivals remained locked together in a furious duel to the wire. In mid-stretch, Fort Bragg seemed poised to edge clear but in the final sixteenth, Saudi Crown found a new gear and made it a head bob at the finish line with Fort Bragg narrowly prevailing by a nose in the field of six 3-year-olds. "People don't realize how competitive these horses are. That was a throw-down," Baffert said. "They are two good horses and they were going at it. It was exciting for just six horses. It was a thriller." The son of Tapit came into the Dwyer off an eventful chain of events. He was a game second in the May 6 Pat Day Mile (G2) at Churchill Downs, dropping a heated stretch duel with General Jim by a neck for interim trainer Tim Yakteen. Bred by SF Bloodstock and Henry Field Bloodstock, he returned to Baffert's care and was sent to New York for the June 1 Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) but developed a fever and was scratched. That led to an audible and the Dwyer, which resulted in his initial stakes win. "He's improving physically and mentally. He's getting better," Baffert said. "It was impressive to run that hard off just two works (after the setback)." Owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan, the produce of the Shanghai Bobby mare March X Press won for the second time in eight starts and increased his earnings to $321,300. Bought for $700,000 from the Bedouin Bloodstock consignment at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale, he is the first of three foals from his dam. She also has a Quality Road yearling colt and a 2023 Honor A.P. filly. FMQ Stables' Saudi Crown, the 8-5 second choice, broke from post 2 and set the early pace along the rail under Javier Castellano. Undefeated after his first two starts, the son of Always Dreaming trained by Brad Cox led by a length through fractions of :22.47 and :44.63 while making his stakes debut and first start beyond 6 1/2 furlongs. Second after a half-mile, Fort Bragg and John Velazquez began matching strides with the frontrunner midway on the turn, lighting the fuse for the fireworks in the stretch. "When he got to (Saudi Crown) my horse got aggressive, so once he got aggressive I didn't want to take too much hold of him. I just followed Javier," Velazquez said. "We were rolling at a good pace and Javier was keeping his horse in front. I thought at the quarter pole I was going to win pretty easy. I put a half-length in front of him and the other horse kept fighting. I kind of hung a little bit, but the other horse kept running. I was like, 'Hey! Don't let him come back at you. Pay attention!'" Cared for and saddled at Belmont by John and Tonja Terranova, Fort Bragg ($3.40) paid attention when it mattered most and covered the mile in 1:35.37 while wearing blinkers for the first time since his maiden win at 2. Castellano, who picked up Triple Crown wins in the Kentucky Derby (G1) with Mage and Belmont Stakes (G1) with Arcangelo, was pleased with the determination Saudi Crown displayed in just his third career start. "What an unbelievable race," he said. "It was such a great race. Never disappointed at all. That's the way we planned to run. I think I got beat because of the post. It would have been different with the outside post. He came back and fought all the way to the wire." Twin Creek Racing Stables' Harrodsburg, a Constitution gelding trained by Rob Atras, was 11 lengths back in third. Baffert said he would likely send Fort Bragg to his California base before deciding on a next start. "I'll probably send him home and see how he does and then send him back to New York," the Hall of Fame trainer said. "I like having them with me. I need a week to see how he comes out it. He ran hard." Three Technique Prevails in John A. Nerud Trainer Jason Cook had his choice of running Three Technique in the $250,000 John A. Nerud Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park on Saturday or the $275,000 Hanshin Stakes at Ellis Park July 2. He opted for the one-turn Nerud over the 1 1/2-turn Hanshin and as it turned out, he made the right call. The 6-year-old son of Mr Speaker rallied from sixth in the field of seven and rolled to a 3 3/4-length victory over 20-1 longshot Synthesis in the Nerud. "It was playing a little to speed (at Ellis Park) and it's a turn and a half and I've always said he's a one-turn horse. I just wanted to run him in a one-turn race. I kind of wanted to win the Hanshin because last year, we (finished a neck behind) Cody's Wish and ran what I would say was the best race of his career. Maybe today might have been just as good or better," Cook said. Synthesis, a First Samurai gelding, owned and trained by David Jacobson, was second by a head over 9-5 second choice Candy Man Rocket, a son of Candy Ride (ARG) owned by Frank Fletcher Racing Operations and trained by Bill Mott. Weyburn, the 8-5 favorite, was last. Winner of a May 27 allowance optional claimer in his last start, Three Technique ($13.60) improved his record to 2-2-2 in six starts at Belmont Park. Owned by David Miller, Eric Grindley, and John Werner, he is 6-6-7 in 31 career starts with earnings of $808.237. Out of the Harlan's Holiday mare Nite in Rome, he was bred by Omega Farm and Bally Breeders in Kentucky. Three Technique, a half brother to the stakes winner Stan the Man, is the first graded winner from his dam's nine foals to race.