Our Braintrust’s Late Surge Captures $150,000 Tremont

ELMONT, NY – Owner/trainer Cathal Lynch’s Our Braintrust used a ground-saving trip along the rail to surge to the lead in the final stages en route to capturing Friday’s $150,000 Tremont Stakes at Belmont Park.

Breaking well from the innermost post under Javier Castellano, Our Braintrust was content to settle in mid-pack while Social Fan and the 2-1 favorite Mae Never No dueled through opening splits of :22.38 and :45.73. Tipping out into the 2-path at the top of the stretch in order to pass a tiring Social Fan, Our Braintrust angled back to the rail and began cutting into Mae Never No’s lead. In the final few yards, Our Braintrust surged past the field’s lone filly and beat a late-charging Sombeyay to the wire by 3/4 of a length to win the 5 1/2-furlong juvenile event over the main track in a final time of 1:04.41.

“He was very professional,” Castellano said. “He broke well from the gate and got right behind the pace, right behind the horses. He got dirt in the face and waited for a seam. The seam inside opened, and I got to the spot. He’s a very brave horse. You don’t see too many young horses do that the way he did that. The way he finished, he’s a nice horse.”

Mae Never No was able to hold on for third by a 1/2-length over Sir Truebadour, while Outshine took fifth over Girls Love Me. Social Fan weakened in the stretch and completed the order of finish for the seven-horse field.

Our Braintrust’s win was his second in as many starts and increased his bankroll to $116,640 after winning on debut at Laurel Park.

“He’s a nice horse,” said Charlie Lynch, son and assistant to Cathal. “His first race, he proved that he can rate and he could come from behind horses and do everything right. He broke sharp and Javier gave him a great ride. They just sat off the pace, and the rail opened up for him, and he went right up there without being bothered at all.”

Lynch, who purchased the 2-year-old New York-bred son of Freud for $25,000 as a yearling, indicated that he would point to a state-bred race as part of the New York series.

Our Braintrust returned $23.40 to win, $11.80 to place, and $6.10 to show. Sombeyay brought back $9 to place and $5.60 to show, while Mae Never No paid $3.20 to show.