Pleasant Tap Victory an Inside Job

Pleasant Tap has always been a solid, consistent horse, distinguished more by his reliability than his brilliance. But Saturday he ran the race of his life to win the $850,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup and establish himself as the favorite for the Breeders’ Cup.

The 5-year-old swooped past the leaders on the turn at Belmont Park and drew away to an authoritative 4 1/2-length victory over Strike The Gold. Some of his rivals were hindered by bad racing luck and by the condition of the wet racing strip here, but Pleasant Tap’s superiority was uncontestable. He ran the 1 1/4 miles in an excellent 1:58 4/5, only three-fifths of a second off the track record.

Gary Stevens delivered a flawless ride after inheriting the mount from Eddie Delahoussaye, who elected to ride 3-year-old A.P. Indy. Delahoussaye had reason to regret his decision a split-second after the gate opened; he was squeezed back badly by Missionary Ridge, and found himself five lengths behind the next-to-last horse in the early stages.

As a pack of four horses battled for the lead and set a fast pace, Stevens had Pleasant Tap running along the rail in fifth place. His location on the racing strip was crucial; horses on the inside had dominated this day of major stakes races. Stevens would have liked to stay there, but there was no hole available. So he moved three-wide past the leaders with a powerful burst, then angled back to the rail as soon as he was clear in the stretch.

Strike The Gold had been four wide the whole way, and A.P. Indy was also racing very wide as he tried to overcome his disastrous start. He finished a creditable third, 6 3/4 lengths behind the winner.

This was a victory for the patience of trainer Chris Speckert, who had managed Pleasant Tap with restraint, avoiding some tempting opportunities, because he wanted the horse to be fresh for the big fall races.

He had won only one major stake this year--the Suburban Handicap at Belmont--and had finished second in several others. But with Saturday’s victory, which boosted Pleasant Tap’s earnings past $2 million, Speckert said: “He has proved himself to be the best older horse in the country.”

Still, handicappers must judge how the Belmont racing strip affected the outcome of the Gold Cup when these horses race again in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Gulfstream Park on Oct. 31.

Other races Saturday were affected by the bias of the track. It had been a sea of slop Friday, but Saturday it produced fast times and gave a clear advantage to horses racing on the inside, especially front-runners. The winning post positions in the dirt races before the Gold Cup were 2, 1, 2, 1, 1.

The $250,000 Beldame Stakes for fillies and mares was a dramatic example of the way the bias dictated the results. Versailles Treaty, the 3-5 favorite, broke from the outside post in the field of five, with Saratoga Dew on the rail. The race was no contest. Saratoga Dew controlled the pace and drew away to a six-length victory. She ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:46 4/5.

The other major races included the Frizette Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, won by Educated Risk, with highly regarded Beal Street Blues a badly beaten third; and the $500,000 Champagne Stakes for 2-year-olds, won by Sea Hero, who swept past an all-out duel between Great Navigator and Secret Odds for a 5 3/4-length victory, and Roman Envoy won the one-mile Kelso Handicap on the grass.