Strike looks Fabulous in Vosburgh

Heading into Sunday's $416,000

Vosburgh

S. (G1) at Belmont Park, much of the attention was focused on the return of

Grade 1 star Discreet Cat (Forestry), but Walter Downey's FABULOUS STRIKE (Smart

Strike) didn't intend to go by that script. The Todd Beattie charge dueled for

the lead with Talent Search (Catienus) through blazing fractions of :21 4/5 and

:44 2/5, put that rival away at the top of the stretch, and turned the

prestigious event into a rout. With Ramon Dominguez in the irons, Fabulous

Strike crossed the wire 5 3/4 lengths in front in a final time of 1:09 1/5 for

six furlongs on the fast track. The 9-2 shot returned $11.20, $5.50 and $3.70

and keyed the $107.50 exacta, $318.50 trifecta and $1,385 superfecta (1-8-4-6).

"This horse is a running son of a gun," Dominguez said. "We were going so

fast, but he was going easy. As soon as I opened my hands, he just exploded."

"I was a little concerned with the rail," Beattie said of Fabulous Strike's

post position. "I was nervous after the first quarter, but when they got around

to the quarter-pole and I looked at my horse, compared to the other jockeys

being busy on their horses, I felt very comfortable that we would have horse

left."

Talent Search stayed on gamely to prevail in a four-way photo-finish for

runner-up honors, a neck ahead of 4-5 favorite Discreet Cat, with Mach Ride (Pentelicus)

another nose back in fourth and E Z Warrior (Exploit) the same margin back in

fifth.

"When it came time to really dig down and run, (Discreet Cat) started getting

tired on me," jockey Garrett Gomez said. "He hadn't run since the (March 31)

Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1). You're asking an awful lot of him, but we knew if

anyone was up to the task, it was going to be him. He was there for me except

for when it came time to really bear down and run."

"He needed the race and should improve off of this race," said Saeed bin

Suroor, Discreet Cat's trainer. "We'll have to see how he comes out of this race

and check him over. If everything is fine, I would be happy to send him to the

Breeders' Cup (Dirt) Mile (on October 26). I think the Mile would be better for

him. Six furlongs is too short for him and his race."

Unheralded at 18-1, Talent Search paid $11.80 and $6, while Discreet Cat

yielded $2.70 to show. Park Avenue Ball (Citidancer) reported home sixth,

followed by First Defence (Unbridled's Song) and Will He Shine (Silver Deputy).

Fabulous Strike improved his record to 14-9-1-0 with $632,832 in earnings.

This was his seventh career stakes victory, with his prior credits including

this year's Aristides Breeders' Cup S. (G3) at Churchill Downs as well as the

2006 Ziggy's Boy S. and Romano Gucci S. at Belmont. He was also runner-up to

Diabolical (Artax) in last season's Gallant Bob H. at Philadelphia Park. The

four-year-old gelding was exiting a subpar fifth in the Smile Sprint H. (G2) at

Calder, where he suffered an adverse reaction to the heat.

Bred by Tea Party Stable in Pennsylvania, Fabulous Strike is the first

registered foal

from the winning Lost Code mare Fabulous Find.

With the Vosburgh being part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge program, Fabulous

Strike's win guaranteed him a berth in the October 27 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1).

Beattie outlined his plans to get him there.

"We'll take him back to Penn National," the trainer said. "I have my own barn

there, and we'll train him up to the Breeders' Cup."