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Mob overtakes field in Hirsch Jacobs

Lantana Mob eked out the victory in the Hirsch Jacobs (Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club) Trainer Steve Asmussen and jockey Robby Albarado are becoming a veritable good thing on Preakness Day at Pimlico. One year after taking the middle jewel of the Triple Crown with Curlin (Smart Strike), the prolific combo were in the Pimlico winner's circle again, this time with Vinery Stable's LANTANA MOB (Posse) at the conclusion of the $100,000 Hirsch Jacobs S. (G3) for three-year-olds. Rallying well off the rail down the stretch, Lantana Mob overtook Silver Edition (Silver Deputy) in the final yards to win by a neck. The time of 1:09 over a quick-playing fast track equaled the track record and smashed the previous stakes record of 1:09 3/5 set by Songster in 2006. Force Freeze (Forest Camp) broke like a shot from his outside draw and quickly made his way to the rail, along the way cutting out splits of :22 4/5 and :45. The pressure was applied rather quickly, however, by Indy Joe (Indy King), and those two were heads apart turning for home. The early pace appeared to take some of the starch out of both competitors as Indy Joe began to drop back while Force Freeze, racing in close quarters scraping the paint, was shortening stride as Silver Edition charged down the outside with Lantana Mob also making good progress out in the middle of the track. Silver Edition grabbed a short lead inside the final furlong, but could not withstand Lantana Mob's furious charge.

"We bided our time and let things unfold, just like Steve Asmussen and I talked about," Albarado said. "We didn't get by until three jumps from the wire but I knew I had him. He showed he had a big punch."

Lantana Mob, the 9-5 favorite, returned $5.60, $3.20 and $2.40 while keying the $24.40 exacta, $49.60 trifecta and $244.20 superfecta (3-9-8-6). Silver Edition was a length clear in second and paid $4.20 and $3, while Force Freeze held third by a neck and rewarded his backers with $2.80. Indy Joe completed the superfecta and was followed by Commandeered (Deputy Commander), Sheeler (Dixie Union), Izzy Speaking (Partner's Hero) and Loveyouintheworld (Hold That Tiger). Shoe Freak Marlene (Double Honor) was scratched.

The Hirsch Jacobs was the fourth stakes win and second graded score for Lantana Mob, who won three of seven starts last year including Monmouth Park's leading stakes for two-year-olds, the Sapling S. (G3) and the Tyro S. Prior to the Hirsch Jacobs, Lantana Mob was an off-the-pace winner of his seasonal debut in Oaklawn Park's Bachelor S. on April 6. Lantana Mob's line now reads 9-5-1-1 with earnings of $309,048.

The winner was bred in Kentucky by Thomas/Burleson/Visagie, and is the first stakes winner produced from Lantana (Copelan), who is also responsible for the unraced two-year-old filly Hanna Lantana (Kafwain), an unnamed yearling filly by Eurosilver and an unnamed 2008 filly by Value Plus.

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