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Scat Daddy pops Champagne to give Pletcher record Michael Tabor and James Scatuorchio's SCAT DADDY (Johannesburg) took the lead in late stretch and held off a game Nobiz Like Shobiz (Albert the Great) to the wire in winning a thrilling rendition of the $400,000 Champagne S. (G1) at Belmont on Saturday. Scat Daddy completed the one-mile fast track feature in a solid 1:36 4/5 and rewarded his backers with mutuels of $7.40, $3.60 and $3 as the 5-2 second choice. In the process of Scat Daddy's victory, trainer Todd Pletcher registered his 93rd stakes win of the season, breaking the mark set by D. Wayne Lukas in 1987. "It's a tremendous accomplishment for me and my staff," Pletcher said. "To be honest, I didn't think it was an attainable record. We had one of those remarkable years where everything has been clicking and horses have been running well. It's been a lot of fun." Pegasus Wind (Fusaichi Pegasus) broke alertly and was uncontested through early splits of :24, :47 3/5 and 1:12 1/5 for the opening six furlongs, while a headstrong Nobiz Like Shobiz rated on the rail awaiting room. As the pacesetter set sail for home, Nobiz Like Shobiz found a seam inside and immediately put his head in front, but Scat Daddy began to hit his best stride, too, and the dark bay wound up three-parts clear at the wire in a game effort. Nobiz Like Shobiz was a half-length clear of the resilient 21-1 Pegasus Wind for the place, which returned $3.10 and $2.50. The 7-5 choice also completed the $23 exacta. Show paid $7.80, and the winning trifecta was good for $200.50. My Golden Opinion (High Yield) came next to sit on the bottom of the $1,693 superfecta (5-2-4-3) at 48-1, and was followed by Got the Last Laugh (Distorted Humor), Xchanger (Exchange Rate), I'm A Numbers Guy (City Zip), Buffalo Man (El Prado [Ire]), Liquidity (Tiznow) and Big Timer (Street Cry [Ire]). Scat Daddy rebounded from his runner-up finish in the Hopeful S. (G1) to earn his second graded stakes triumph, following a score in the Sanford S. (G2). The classy colt upped his bankroll to $405,800 from a 4-3-1-0 record. "It was a huge race," Pletcher noted of his star freshman colt. "He worked his way through traffic and made a big late run. He did what we thought he would do when we stretched him out." Bred in the the Bluegrass State by Axel Wend, the winner attracted a bid of $250,000 at the 2005 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Produced from the unraced Love Style (Mr. Prospector), Scat Daddy has an unnamed weanling full brother. Pletcher indicated that the winner will be pointed toward the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) on November 4.
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