ELMONT, NY – Majid broke cleanly, shot to the front, and never looked back in Saturday’s $150,000 Easy Goer Stakes at Belmont Park. This was the fourth straight win for the three-year-old son of Shackleford who seems to be on a roll since breaking his maiden at Aqueduct in January.
At odds of 5-1, Majid shot out of the gate with jockey Luis Saez aboard and took command of the early lead. Second-best was Alwaysmining who was followed closely by Still Dreaming and Grumps Little Tots with Outshine on the rear. With little pressure from the rest of the field, Majid was allowed to set easy early fractions of :23.70 and :47.55. Into the second turn, Grumps Little Tots was the first to make a move as he came three wide alongside Alwaysmining and Still Dreaming. At the top of the stretch, those three remained even with Majid out in front. Despite their best efforts, Majid was too good to catch and didn’t give up any ground down the stretch as he cruised to an easy one-length victory. Still Dreaming crossed the line second but upon a Stewards Review was disqualified to fourth place for impeding Alwaysmining. Grumps Little Tots was awarded second and Alwaysmining was placed third.
“The plan coming in was to take the lead,” said jockey Luis Saez. “In his last race, when he took the lead, he was very relaxed. When we came down the stretch, he responded. When I saw them coming, I just tried to ride hard and thank God we passed the wire first.”
This was the first career stakes win for the Rudy Rodriguez trainee who is owned by Zayat Stables.
“He showed heart today,” said Rodriguez. “It looked like he started to go to the lead, and he kept his determination so that was good to see he can do that. Hopefully, he can keep doing that. We’ll go race by race with him and I’m probably going to take him to Saratoga and freshen him up a little bit. He’s a 3-year-old and he’s got the world ahead of him. I’ve just got to hope that he keeps improving. The distance is no problem for him. He’s a pretty nice horse and but he’s still got to be able to do it going forward.
Majid returned $12.60 to win, $5.30 to place, and $3.10 to show. Grumps Little Tots brought back $6.20 to place and $3.10 to show, while Alwaysmining paid $2.40 to show.
Scratched: Dream Maker