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Banrock gets his Mohawk in Belmont meet finale Nyala Farm's homebred BANROCK (Go for Gin) finally filled in the one gap on his impressive New York-bred resume in Sunday's $150,000 Mohawk S., the last race of Belmont's Fall Championship Meet. The Tom Bush veteran found his third try in the Mohawk to be the proverbial charm, driving to a one-length decision in a final time of 1:52 3/5 for 1 1/8 miles on the soft inner turf. Originally scheduled as part of Saturday's New York Showcase Day card, both the Mohawk and its companion for state-bred distaffers, the Ticonderoga S., were shifted to Sunday because of heavy rain Saturday afternoon. Banrock raced in sixth through splits of :25 3/5 and :51 1/5, but Javier Castellano moved him up a bit closer through six furlongs in 1:15 3/5. The 4-5 favorite launched his bid in the stretch and powered to the front, maintaining a safe margin over runner-up Gimme Credit (Artax) and Solvent (Banker's Gold) in third. Banrock returned $3.80, $3 and $2.30 while extending his winning streak to three. "That was fantastic," Bush said. "He had the great outside stalking trip and he got his soft course. We're very proud of him for sure. I really, really did want to win this race this year. I wanted to end it on a great note. We're thrilled." "The pace was very, very slow," Castellano said. "I wanted to let him settle and he settled beautifully. All the way down the backside, a couple jockeys were rushing to go to the lead, but I took my time. I watched his last couple of races very closely, the way Kent Desormeaux rode him. I wanted to ride him exactly the same way today and that's what I did. I know in his past performances he handled the soft turf very well. I had the best horse in the race, and I just wanted to ride him right." Banrock, whose previous attempts at the Mohawk resulted in a sixth in 2007 and a fourth last year, advanced his record to 30-12-4-4 with $798,013 in earnings. The six-year-old bay gelding has now won a total of eight stakes. This campaign, he has successfully defended his titles in the Kingston S. in May and the West Point H. and Ashley T. Cole S. in his past two. Out of the winning Ends Well mare It's a Gherkin, Banrock is a half-brother to multiple New York-bred stakes queen Finlandia (Royal Anthem). Craig Bernick's YOU GO WEST GIRL (Mr. Greeley), runner-up in last year's Ticonderoga, exploded in the stretch en route to a three-length score in Sunday's renewal, turning the tables on defending champion Love Cove (Not for Love). With Jose Lezcano aboard, the Tom Proctor mare bided her time in midpack off slow fractions of :25 3/5, :52 3/5 and 1:18 2/5 before producing a terrific turn of foot. You Go West Girl stretched clear to complete the grassy nine furlongs in 1:53 2/5 and paid $15, $7.50 and $4.30 as the 6-1 third choice. "My filly broke good, but I didn't want to be on the lead," Lezcano said. "I knew the pace was slow, but I had to wait until the quarter-pole because she's the kind of filly if you ask her too soon, she'll stop. When I asked her she just exploded." Love Cove crossed the wire one length ahead of 2-1 favorite Nehantic Kat (Tomorrows Cat), who experienced traffic trouble. Nehantic Kat was finishing third in the Ticonderoga for the second straight year. You Go West Girl boosted her bankroll to $482,137 from her 21-8-5-3 line. The five-year-old dark bay was recording her third career stakes victory and was coming off a score in the John Hettinger S. She was produced by multiple Grade 3 queen Careless Heiress (Runaway Groom). Four juvenile stakes were also contested Sunday, and New York's leading rider, Ramon Dominguez, won two of them. Dominguez first engineered a front-running victory aboard Samuel F. Bayard's homebred WESTOVER WILDCAT (Forest Wildcat) in the $63,750 Bold Lad S. The Tony Dutrow pupil rattled off quick splits of :22 and :44 3/5 on the fast main track, widened his advantage to 2 3/4 lengths at the wire, and sizzled six furlongs in 1:08 4/5. The 4-5 favorite gave back $3.60 and $2.30. There was no show wagering on the four-horse field. Golden Ghost (Ghostzapper) finished a clear second by 9 1/2 lengths in the strung-out group. Westover Wildcat, who was most recently a troubled fifth in the Hopeful S. (G1), now sports a mark of 4-2-1-0, $90,200. The Kentucky-bred bay is out of multiple stakes winner Bronze Abe (Two Punch). Dominguez later guided Ken and Sarah Ramsey's homebred DEAN'S KITTEN (Kitten's Joy) to a narrow decision in the $68,250 Vision S., rolling to the lead in the stretch and just holding on by a neck from Imaging (Dynaformer) while finishing 1 1/16 miles in 1:46 1/5 on the soft turf. Dean's Kitten paid $10, $4.50 and $4.10 as the 4-1 fourth choice in a field of eight wagering interests. The Mike Maker-trained winner was enjoying a return to the grass after trailing home fifth in the off-the-turf Pilgrim S. Fourth in the With Anticipation S. (G3) at Saratoga two back, Dean's Kitten has compiled a scorecard of 6-2-0-2 with $90,990 in his account. The Kentucky-bred chestnut colt was produced by the winning Summer Theatre (Ide). In the companion $67,500 Good Mood S. for two-year-old fillies, Jose Cerrillo's POTOSINA (Cactus Ridge) prompted the pace, seized command and drew off by 4 3/4 commanding lengths. Conditioned by Mark Shuman and piloted by John Velazquez, the dark bay negotiated 1 1/16 grassy miles in 1:46 3/5. Potosina, the 9-2 fourth choice in the six-horse field, rewarded her supporters with $11.20, $5.10 and $3.30. Caminadora (More Than Ready), the nearly 2-1 favorite, got up belatedly for second. Potosina, who was demoted from third to fourth for interference in the Blue Hen S. last time out, was making her turf debut here. The Kentucky-bred's resume now reads 3-2-0-0, $67,800. Out of Chilean champion Cristalline (Chi) (Northair), Potosina is a half-sister to Chilean Horse of the Year Crystal House (Chi) (Golden Voyager) and Chilean champion Crystal Clear (Golden Voyager). Larry Byer, Omar Trevino and Anthony Cecil's FEMALE DRAMA (Indian Charlie) remained perfect from two starts when wiring the $67,500 Wings of Jove S. as the 2-1 favorite. Under a Rajiv Maragh ride, the Todd Pletcher filly had 1 1/2 lengths to spare over Magic Appeal (Successful Appeal) at the line. Female Drama toured six furlongs in 1:10 1/5 on the main track and furnished mutuels of $6.40, $3.70 and $2.50. A debut maiden winner in similarly front-running fashion at Belmont in her prior outing, the Kentucky-bred bay has now bankrolled $66,300. Female Drama was produced by the winning Dixieland Band mare Newhall Road, making her a half-sister to multiple Argentinean Group 1 victress New Real Deal (Roy).
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