|
|
Mission Approved shocks Saranac Dismissed in the wagering at 34-1, Dr. William F. Coyro Jr.'s MISSION APPROVED (With Approval) pulled a wire-to-wire shocker in Sunday's $115,000 Saranac S. (G3) at Saratoga. Under clever handling by Eibar Coa, the New York-bred bay carved out splits of :24 1/5, :49 1/5, 1:12 3/5 and 1:36 1/5. Mission Approved poached a two-length lead in midstretch, and that proved to be more than enough of an insurance policy against the 9-5 favorite Distorted Reality (Distorted Humor). The crowd's choice kept plugging away late to get within three-quarters of a length at the wire, but Mission Approved had gone beyond recall. By stopping the teletimer in 1:53 4/5 for 1 3/16 miles on the firm turf, the Gary Contessa-trained sophomore recorded his first win outside of state-bred company, producing healthy payouts of $70, $17.20 and $10.80. "It wasn't our plan to take the lead," Coa revealed, "but it worked out that way. When we took the lead and no one was going after us, I wanted to see how this was going to work. After the half-mile, I knew we were going easy. The question was if he would have enough in the end." Contessa was confident that Mission Approved would have plenty left. "The farther he goes, the faster he gets," Contessa said. "He's a big, good-looking, big-striding horse." Although Distorted Reality tracked closely throughout, he let the pacesetter steal a march on him at a decisive point. The runner-up returned $3.80 and $3.10 while concluding the $347 exacta. The nearly 14-1 Pays to Dream (High Yield) had a rough trip, but still rallied from last in the 11-horse field to grab third, just three-quarters of a length astern of Distorted Reality. Show was worth $7.30, and the trifecta yielded $2,896. The 6-1 Mysterious Peintre (Fr) (Peintre Celebre) came another neck back as a one-paced fourth, resulting in a 3-7-5-1 superfecta that totaled a lucrative $58,106. Chaluiwitcane (Tiger Ridge) crossed the line in fifth, followed by La Neige (GB) (Royal Applause [GB]), Diamond Fever (Seeking the Gold), Ambassador (Ger) (Acatenango), Giant Chieftan (Giant's Causeway), Senor Enrico (El Prado [Ire]) and 7-2 second choice Blazing Dynamo (Dynaformer). Mission Approved's first stakes score improved his record to 8-4-1-1 and boosted his bankroll to $165,332. A three-time winner versus New York-breds, he had failed to make an impact in either of his previous stakes attempts. Mission Approved checked in a long-way last of five to Distorted Reality in the Lexington S., and last time out, he was an unremarkable seventh to Pays to Dream in the Glow S. at the Spa. Out of the winning Fortunate Prospect mare Fortunate Find, Mission Approved hails from the family of multiple Grade 1 turf star El Senor (Valdez), who earned more than $1.7 million over five seasons of campaigning.
 Send this article to a friend
|
|
