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Effinex wins Suburban photo over Tonalist
Allowed to save ground in the early stages as Street Babe (Street Sense) and Coach Inge (Big Brown) dueled through splits of :22 4/5 and :46, Effinex joined Tonalist in making a middle move approaching the three-quarter mark, but had to steady briefly as Street Babe began a retreat in front of him. Coach Inge passed six furlongs in 1:10 and then increased his lead after a mile in 1:35 as Tonalist, last year's Belmont S. (G1) and Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), initially failed to sustain his early bid. With Street Babe out of the way, Effinex split that pair turning for home and took aim at Coach Inge, who would continue on strongly to the eighth pole. Inside the final furlong, Brooklyn winner Coach Inge finally began to run out of gas, while Effinex and a resurgent Tonalist took up the chase for the winner's purse. In a tight photo, Effinex proved slightly best in a time of 2:01 2/5 under Junior Alvarado. He returned $15.60. "Today he wore a Houghton bridle, which gives you more control," Jerkens said. "But I'm sure he would have been fine with the other bridle; he was a different horse today. Maybe the crowd on Belmont day got him all worked up, or he was in a sour frame of mind with the long post parade; that might have had something to do with it. He was as kind as could be today, the whole time. "During the stretch run, I was just happy he was going to run good. If he got beat by Tonalist, that wasn't going to be a crime. And then when he gutted it out, golly, and Junior got the stick over in his left hand, and that's what made the difference. The horse was in a better frame of mind. We didn't train him quite as hard." Tonalist, winner of the Westchester (G3) and runner-up in the Metropolitan H. (G1) this term, finished 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Coach Inge, who was 11 1/2 lengths clear of Neck 'n Neck (Flower Alley). Mylute (Midnight Lute) and Street Babe completed the order of finish. Effinex had a maiden and an allowance win in seven starts for trainer David Smith prior to last year's Saratoga meet, when the colt debuted for Jerkens in the $250,000 Albany. Following a second there and a third in a New York-bred allowance, Effinex turned in a 17-1 upset of the $300,000 Empire Classic when sporting blinkers for the first time. After concluding his sophomore campaign with fourth-place efforts in the Hawthorne Gold Cup (G2) and $100,000 Alex M. Robb, Effinex kicked off 2015 with back-to-back wins at Aqueduct. His first was a 3 1/2-length score against open allowance company on the inner dirt, and the second was revenge over Hawthorne Gold Cup winner Red Rifle, by three parts of a length, in the 10-furlong Excelsior (G3) on the main track. His record now stands at 16-6-1-2, $782,250. "I guess we'd look at the Whitney ([G1] on August 8) or the one later on (Woodward [G1] on September 5) but anything can happen," Jerkens said. Bred by Dr. Russell Cohen, Effinex was reared by the multiple stakes-winning What a Pear (E Dubai). His fourth dam was Broodmare of the Year Best In Show (Traffic Judge). Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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