AWESOME ACT TAKES TO THE DIRT IN
By Jenny Kellner
Ridden by reigning Eclipse Award-winning jockey Julien Leparoux, the son of 1998 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Awesome Again stayed well off fractions of 22.85 and 46.60 set by Wow Wow Wow, moved up willingly four-wide on the turn and then powered to the front in midstretch for a 1¼-length win over Yawanna Twist.
“He did everything perfect,” said Leparoux of the colt, who despite having only run on turf and synthetic surfaces was sent off as the 5-2 favorite. “He was beyond good on the dirt; it didn’t matter to him at all. He just did everything on his own, he put me in the right spots, and then he just finished very nice.”
Awesome Act’s winning time for the 1 1/16th miles was 1:43.85 over a fast inner track as he made his first start since finishing a fast-closing fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf last November at Santa Anita. Following that race, he returned to
“It’s the first hurdle out of the way, so the dream lives on,” said winning trainer Jeremy Noseda, who is based at
Although Awesome Act’s lone victory prior to the Gotham was in a maiden race on turf in
“We had the discussion about him possibly being a
Awesome Act returned $7.70 for a $2 win bet as he earned $150,000 for his co-owners, Mrs. Susan Roy and Vinery Stables. His record stands at 2-2-1 from seven starts with earnings of $221,691.
Yawanna Twist, who came into the race off a pair of inner-track victories, closed well to finish second, 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Nacho Friend. Further back were Turf Melody, Shrimp Dancer, Peppi Knows, I’ve Got the Fever, Wow Wow Wow, Three Day Rush, and Afleet Again.
Noseda said Awesome Act would remain at Belmont Park with assistants Wayne Tanner and George Windsor to prepare for the 1 1/8th mile Wood Memorial, New York’s final major prep race for the May 1 Kentucky Derby.
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