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Diabolical pounces to Vanderbilt glory Puglisi Stables and trainer Steve Klesaris' DIABOLICAL (Artax) took the lead in late stretch and inched clear to a half-length win in the $260,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. (G2) at Saratoga on Saturday. Piloted by Mario Pino, the 5-2 favorite finished off six furlongs in a swift 1:08 3/5 to record his second consecutive graded win. The chestnut paid $7, $4 and $3.10 while keying the $80 exacta and $519 trifecta. Commentator (Distorted Humor) broke a tad slow but rocketed to the front, dueling with Attila's Storm (Forest Wildcat) through splits of :21 3/5 and :44 2/5 for the opening half-mile, while Diabolical tracked in the garden spot behind the top pair. Turning for home, Attila's Storm dispatched Commentator, but Diabolical began to take closer order when five furlongs was reached in :56 1/5, and the Klesaris trainee had the momentum that carried him to his most lucrative score to date. In the process, he booked his ticket to the October 27 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) according to the new "Win and You're In" format. "You couldn't set up a better trip," Pino said. "The race set up perfectly for him. He laid off those two horses, and Steve (Klesaris) had him perfect. It was just a matter of when to move. I said, 'I'm not going to move until I have to,' and when I asked him, he took off. He's a pure sprinter. He's a great horse to ride. He does everything right. He's not a nervous horse. From the first time I rode him, I knew he could do everything." Attila's Storm was 1 3/4 lengths clear in second, paying $9.80 and $2.60 at 13-1. Simon Pure (Silver Deputy) rallied from off the pace to garner the show at 9-1, worth $5.20. Benny the Bull (Lucky Lionel) closed well on the rail turning for home but flattened out late to finish fourth, followed by Cougar Cat (Storm Cat), Commentator, Saint Anddan (A.P. Indy) and Abraaj (Carson City). Diabolical improved his lifetime line to 19-8-6-2, $750,900. The four-year-old earned his fifth career stakes win, following triumphs in the Maryland Breeders' Cup Sprint H. (G3), Gallant Bob H., Nick Shuk Memorial S. and Stanton S., to go along with eight stakes placings, five of them at the graded level. The winner was bred in the Bluegrass State by Longleaf Pine Farm and attracted a bid of $300,000 at the 2005 OBS February Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale. He is out of Bonnie Byerly (Dayjur) and has an unnamed two-year-old half-brother by Deputy Commander, as well as an unnamed yearling half-sister by Maria's Mon. Klesaris said that Diabolical would race next in the September 30 Vosburgh S. (G1) at Belmont.
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