A win for the Home Team: Cyberknife wins the Haskell for local owner Al Gold
It was a win for the home team in Saturday's $1 million TVG.com Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park.
Cyberknife, owned by Al Gold, who lived in Ocean Township for more than 30 years, got a brilliant, rail-skimming ride by Florent Geroux to edge out the Bob Baffert-trained Taiba by a head in track record time of 1:46.24 (and career-best 102 Beyer) for the 1/1/8 mile race before a crowd of 22,138.
Off at 7-1 and the fourth choice, Cyberknife a son of 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner and trained by Brad Cox, the Eclipse-Award winning trainer the last two years, paid $17.60. The win earned him an automatic berth to the Breeders' Cup Classic Nov. 5 at Keeneland.
It was also the second straight year Cox and Geroux have teamed up to win the Haskell. They won last year when Mandaloun was put up after the disqualification of Hot Rod Charlie for interference with Midnight Bourbon in the stretch. Mandaloun had finished second by a nose.
"It's big. It’s a Grade 1 and a top three-year-old race in the country,'' Cox said. "It and the Travers are the best three-year-old races in the country in the summer. I’m very happy to be able to put together back-to-back races. This one felt good getting to the wire first as opposed to being put up. Mandaloun ran a winning race last year and I'm very proud of his effort and of this horse today as well."
"This one is better. This is more special,'' Geroux said.
Gold, who overcame prostate cancer two years ago, was a close friend of the late, great Asbury Park Press columnist Bill Handleman. Handleman covered the Haskell and Monmouth Park for years for the Asbury Park Press.
The horse is named for the cyberknife - a non-invasive procedure that delivers radition to cancer cells without damaging other healthy tissue or cells.
"It's something I've wanted for years,'' said Gold, who has homes that he currently lives in Saratoga Springs, New York and Delray Beach, Florida. "I've been an owner for 20 years. To finally win it is terrific. It's indescribable.''
"To win for Al in his hometown is very special,'' Geroux said.
The track record of 1:46.53 had been set about 90 minute earlier by Highly Motivated in the Monmouth Cup. Highly Motivated had broken a track record of 1:46.80 that Spend A Buck had held for almost 37 years.
"We've liked this horse from the get-go,'' Cox said. "Last summer when we worked him at Saratoga I thought, man, this is a good horse. I figured out that you really can't make the lead to early with him. He’d wait on other horses. He needs a target. He’s a nice colt. I always thought he was a Grade 1 talent. He's been able to pick up two Grade 1's at a mile and an eighth distance and that bodes well moving forward."
It was the second Grade 1 win for Cyberknife. He won the Arkansas Derby on April 2. He was then 18th in the Kentucky Derby after he was close to the sizzling early pace, tired and Geroux wrapped up on him in the stretch.
Cyberknife then won the Grade 3 Matt Winn June 12 at Churchill Downs by a nose over Howling Time.
Jack Christopher, who went off as the 7-10 favorite and was trying to give trainer Chad Brown his sixth win of the day and his fifth graded stakes win, was two lengths back in third.
Taiba, who was trying to give Baffert his 10th Haskell win and was the 2-1 second choice, had taken the lead from Jack Christopher in the stretch before Cyberknife, who had been taken back to the rail from the 2 path the stretch, loomed up along side and took the lead at the sixteenth pole.
"I knew the horse had a lot of talent,'' Gold said. "When I saw he had drawn the rail, we were confident. Flo (Geroux) took him a little further back than I thought. He moved at the right time and just won. It's terrific.''
Benevengo, a 56-1 shot, led through the first six furlongs with Jack Christopher and jockey Jose Ortiz sitting second on the outside. Taiba, under Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith sat third along the rail.
Cyberknife was sixth, 4 1/2 lengths back after a half-mile in 46.96 and still sixth, two lengths back after six furlongs in 1:09.93 with Geroux saving ground every step of the way. He was fourth and two lengths back at the head of the stretch.
"I had confidence in the horse. I had a lot of horse underneath me, but I felt like I couldn't go anywhere,'' Geroux said. "I stayed cool. My target was Taiba and Jack Christopher. By the backside you could tell that some of those other horses were already (out of the race).''
“I think this is his best race to date,'' Cox said. "Throughout the race, I thought he looked very professional with the way he handled himself.''
Geroux then went into the two path turning into the stretch before moving back to the rail. while Taiba rallied four-wide. Jack Christopher had taken the lead at the quarter pole before he was passed by both Cyberknife and Taiba.
"I pushed the gas a little bit like I did in the Arkansas Derby just to get into him,'' Geroux said. "He responded instantly. He has a turn of foot like a turf horse on the dirt. He can make several moves in the race. We knew that before the race. That's why I used him a little bit to take good position at the half-mile. From there, I stayed quiet until it was time to go.”
"At the quarter-pole, Florent Geroux had a nice hold of him and he was loaded,'' Cox said. "He responded well when asked. He flew at the end. I am very proud of him.''
Taiba, who won the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 9 in his second career start, was running for the first time since he was 12th in the Kentucky Derby. He was also the first horse transferred back to Baffert after his 90-day suspension for Medina Spirit's post-race drug test failure after the 2021 Kentucky Derby ended on July 3 to run in a Grade 1 race.
“He made a gallant effort, that’s for sure,'' said Jimmy Barnes, Baffert's assistant trainer who saddled Taiba. "He came running. We’re very proud of him. I was hoping to be one-two. It’s possible his lack of seasoning might have had something to do with it a little bit. I have to talk to Mike (Smith). We’ll get him home to California and see how he comes out of the race and go from there.”
Jack Christopher, who was 4-for-4 with two Grade 1 wins in his career entering the race, was racing father than a mile for the first time and around two turns for the first time.
Total handle on the day was $19,896,954, over $4 million more than last year. On-track handle was $1,303,642.
In the Grade 1 $600,000 United Nations Stakes:
Brown and jockey Flavien Prat made it 4-for-4 in graded stakes on the undercard as Adhamo, who went off as the 9-5 favorite, came from the off the pace to win the 1/3/8 mile turf race by 1 1/2 lengths over 70-1 shot Epic Bromance.
It was the fifth win on the day for Brown, a four-time Eclipse Award winner.
Adhamo raced in mid-pack and saved ground while last year's winner and stablemate Tribhuvan set the pace.
Prat then moved Adhamo to the outside. He roared by the Tribhuvan inside the sixteenth pole.
Epic Bromance won a three-way photo for second over Temple and Tribhuvan.
It was the first win in four starts in this country for Adhamo. He was third in the Grade 1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day and second behind Tribhuvan in the Grade 1 Manhattan on Belmont Stakes Day.
In the Grade 3 $400,000 Moly Pitcher:
Search Results made it three straight wins for the Brown-Prat as the 2021 Kentucky Oaks runner-up romped by three lengths in the 1/1/16 mile race for older fillies and mares.
“I'm so appreciative Monmouth had this race,'' Brown said. ''It made it an easy decision to come here with her, and the mile and a sixteenth is a good distance for her
The decision by Brown to run Search Results here, rather than tomorrow in the Grade 2 $200,000 Shuvee at Saratgoa on Sunday against Clairiere and Malathaat paid off big time. Clairere and Malathaat wore down Search Results June 11 at Belmont Park in the Grade 1 Ogden Phillips.
Search Result, who earned a career-high 102 Beyer Speed figure while contesting the pace against the speedy Letruska in the Phipps, sat third on the outside behind Beth's Dream and Pennybaker before she took command on the far turn.
The winning time of 1:40.47 was 28 hundredths of a second off the track record set by 2017 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile runner-up Sharp Azteca on July 30, 2017.
In the Grade 3 $200,000 Matchmaker Stakes:
Lemista made it three wins for Brown when she took the lead in deep stretch and won the 1 1/8 mile turf race by a half-length over stablemate Fluffy Socks. Prat was aboard.
Brown horses ran 1-2-4 in the race. Flighty Lady was fourth. The Shug McGaughey-trained Vigilantes Way was third.
Lemista, in her first win in six starts since she came to this country from Europe last year, sat second off Flighty Lady, took the lead turning for home and then inched away from Fluffy Socks in deep stretch after it looked like Fluffy Socks was going to move by her in the stretch.
The winner paid $11.20
In the Grade 3 $400,000 Monmouth Cup:
Brown ran 1-2 as 4-5 favorite Highly Motivated, under Prat, ran down stablemate Pipeline, to record his first graded stakes win in what track record time for the 1 1/8 mile distance for about 90 minutes.
The winning margin was 1 3/4 lengths.
Making his third start after a 50 week layoff following a 10th-place finish in last year's Kentucky Derby, Highly Motivated made a three-wide move near the end of the backstretch to engage Pipeline and then wore that horse down in the upper stretch and pulled away in the final eighth.
Pipeline had grabbed lead from Antigravity on the the far turn.Highly Motivated paid $3.60 to win.
In the $100,000 Wolf Hill Stakes:
Breakthrough, who went off at 16-1, went wire-to-wire under jockey Samy Camacho, to win the $100,000 5 1/2 furlong turf sprint. by a half-length.
Trained by Juan Avila, Breakthrough paid $34.80
Belgrano, who won the Select Stakes at Monmouth on June 19, looked like he was going to go by Breakthrough in the upper stretch, was second, and Admiral Abe was third.
The Critical Way, who went off as the 2-1 favorite, was rated off the pace and finished fifth in the field of seven.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Haskell 2022: Cyberknife wins for the Home Team
