Inspector Lynley Reels In Danger’s Hour Victory

SOUTH OZONE PARK, NY – A patiently-handled Inspector Lynley was able to reel in a loose-on-the-lead foe in midstretch before digging in to win Sunday’s Danger’s Hour Stakes at Aqueduct in record time.

Breaking from the far outside post 8 under Jose Lezcano as the 6/5 favorite, Inspector Lynley rode one lane off the rail while Black Tide blitzed to opening fractions of :23.04, :46.34, and 1:10.11 while leading by as much as 8 lengths at one point. Exiting the far turn, Inspector Lynley led his four other foes in a tightly-bunched pack and began steadily eating into the pacesetter’s margin. Taking the lead inside the final furlong, the Shug McGaughey trainee only needed mild urging to continue running strongly late.

Inspector Lynley crossed with a 1-length advantage in a final time of 1:34.13 for the mile-long event over the firm turf course, breaking the previous record of 1:34.39 that Hawkish set in an allowance race on April 15, 2018.

“He broke pretty well,” Lezcano said. “I knew that number seven (Black Tide) would be going and I tried to get as close as I could. I didn’t want to go too fast or too slow; I wanted to be in the right position. He’s a very nice horse.”

Multiplier spent the entire race chasing the eventual winner, ultimately finishing second by 3/4 of a length. A three-way photo for third ultimately went to Maraud by a neck over Awesome Saturday, with another neck separating a weakening Black Tide. Coltandmississippi came up empty when the real running began and completed the order of finish.

Inspector Lynley’s win was his second in his past three starts, having taken the Tampa Bay Stakes (G3) on February 9 to kick off his 2019 season. The 6-year-old son of Lemon Drop Kid improved his record to 24-6-5-4 with $690,299 earned for owners/breeders Stuart Janney III and Phipps Stable.

Inspector Lynley returned $4.50 to win, $2.80 to place, and $2.10 to show. Multiplier brought back $4.10 to place and $2.80 to show, while Maraud paid $2.40 to show.