Our Braintrust rallies to Tremont upset
Our Braintrust in his maiden score. Photo by Jim McCue, Maryland Jockey Club.
From a NYRA release
Making his second career start, Our Braintrust bested a field of seven to win the $150,000 Tremont for juveniles at 5 ½ furlongs on Friday at Belmont Park.
With the win, Our Braintrust, bred in Maryland by Barak Farm, ran his record to two wins from two starts. He had opened his career with a win in a maiden race May 3 at his home track of Laurel Park.
Breaking from the rail at odds of 10-1 and with Javier Castellano aboard, Our Braintrust was in third position behind Mae No Never and Social Fan who set fractions of 22.38 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 45.73 for the half.
At the quarter-pole, Our Braintrust continued to chase the leaders. Under a full drive at the five-sixteenths pole, he shifted to the rail and held off a late charging Sombeyay to hit the wire three-quarters of a length in front.
He completed the distance in 1:04.41.
“He was very professional. He broke well from the gate and got right behind the pace, right behind the horses,” said Castellano. “He got dirt in the face and waited for a seam. The seam inside opened, and I got to the spot. He’s a very brave horse. You don’t see too many young horses do that the way he did that. The way he finished, he’s a nice horse.”
Returning $23.40 for a $2 win wager, the Cal Lynch-trained son of Freud remained unbeaten in two starts boosting his earnings to $119,640.
“He’s a nice horse. His first race he proved that he can rate and he could come from behind horses and do everything right,” said Charlie Lynch, son and assistant to Cal. “He broke sharp and Javier gave him a great ride. They just sat off the pace and the rail opened up for him and he went right up there without being bothered at all.”
Looking forward, Lynch hinted that Our Braintrust may next point to a New York-bred/sired race.
“He’s [by] a New York stallion so he’s probably going to be coming up here for the New York series,” continued Lynch. “He’s a nice horse, so we were taking our shot against some of the bigger horses to see what he can do.”
Following Sombeyay in second was Mae No Never, Sir Truebadour, Outshine, Girls Love Me and Social Fan.
