Fort Bragg nosed out Saudi Crown in an exciting stretch-long duel and won the $200,000 Dwyer (G3) for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert on Saturday (July 1) at Belmont Park.
Sent off as the 7-10 favorite in a small field of six, Fort Bragg ($3.40) gave Baffert his third victory in the Dwyer. His other two winners were Forestry in 1999 and Roman Ruler in 2005.
Fort Bragg, a son of top sire Tapit, seems to be finding his game as the summer season begins. The bay colt was 0-for-4 in 2023 coming into the race, but a second-place finish in the Pat Day Mile (G2) on May 6 was an encouraging sign.
“We love winning those big races in New York. It means a lot for the horse,’’ Baffert said. “We were always very excited about him, but he was just immature mentally. He’s just figuring it out. His last race was huge at Churchill (the Pat Day Mile). He just got away bad that day or he probably would have won the race (he was beaten by a neck). I think he’s getting it all together.”
Saudi Crown (the 8-5 second choice) took the lead, but Fort Bragg, ridden by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, made his move on the outside coming off the final turn. The two hooked up in the stretch and Fort Bragg took the lead about a furlong from the finish and held on for his second victory in eight career starts.
Winning time was 1:35.37.
Fort Bragg was fitted with blinkers for the Dwyer. Velazquez said it made a difference.
“He was pretty professional today,” Velazquez said. “I talked to Bob and he’s been a horse that gets to kind of looking around and not really paying attention. With the blinkers today, he was pretty professional. I’ve got to say that he was pretty easy to handle.
“When I put half a length in front of the other horse, I’m thinking I was going to win easy, and all of a sudden, the horse stayed there,, and I can’t put him away. But I did. It was a good effort.”
After the Pat Day Mile, Fort Bragg was set to run in the Woody Stephens (G1) at Belmont on June 10, but spiked a fever and was scratched.
What’s next for Fort Bragg? Perhaps Saratoga in the Jim Dandy (G2) on July 29 and/or the Travers (G1) on Aug. 26.
“I don’t know yet. I’ll leave that door open,’’ Baffert, who was not at Belmont, said. “We have some other ones, too. We still have the Preakness winner (National Treasure), don’t forget about him. But certainly, we’ll have some good horses in all those stakes races up there.”
Three Technique Wins John A Nerud (G2)
Three Technique rallied from near the back of the back and cruised past Candy Man Rocket with about a furlong to go and won the $250,000 John A. Nerud by 3 ¾ lengths.
Ridden by Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, the 6-year-old horse won his first graded stakes race in the 31st start of his career.
Three Technique was sent off at 5-1 and returned $13.60 for a $2 win bet. Candy Man Rocket was third choice, with Weyburn, the slight favorite running last of seven.
“He finds his way outside. I figured that out by watching him win awhile back and it looked like he was going to get beat,’’ winning trainer Jason Cook said. “But the jockey swung him out and he mowed them down. I figured that’s what I needed to do.”
Based in Kentucky, Cook has had some good luck racing with Three Technique in New York. And with the Saratoga meet coming up, there could be a few races at the Spa on the schedule – or not.
“He broke his maiden (at Saratoga), but it doesn’t look like it’s his favorite track,’’ Cook said. “We’ll figure something out. I’ve always wanted to win the Ack Ack (at Churchill Downs in September. It’s a personal goal of mine. I can find a race in between somewhere.
Co-owner David Miller, a former University of Louisville quarterback, said: “He’s raced here (at Belmont) five times and been on the board every time so we knew this track would be more conducive to his type of running style. We brought him up here to give him a shot and we couldn’t be any happier … Saratoga is in the cards.”
Synthesis, a 20-1 shot, got up for second, with Candy Man Rocket third, followed by Sheriff Bianco, Little Vic, Twisted Ride, and Weyburn.
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
