HALLANDALE BEACH - John Rowe’s Lord Eddard Stark caught Utah Beach at the finish line to pull off a 60-1 upset victory in the $115,000 H. Allen Jerkens Handicap at Gulfstream Park.

    It took all two miles of the turf handicap for 3-year-olds and up for Lord Eddard Stark to edge the 4-5 favorite, but the 6-year-old gelding earned his way into the winner’s circle under a patient ride by Leonel Reyes.

    “We’ve been talking about trying to run him a mile and a half or two miles for a while now and we just didn’t have the opportunity,” trainer Joe Orseno said. “When this came up, I said, ‘We’re going to run him in this two-mile race. You might think I’m crazy, but we have to take a shot.’  Until you try it, you never know.”

    Lord Eddard Stark settled comfortable in a pack of horse that allowed Prevent to set a lonesome lead while setting a half-mile fractions of 48.70 (seconds) on his way to a mile clocking of 1:40.55. Prevent continued to show the way in the second circuit of the Gulfstream turf before shortening stride on the far turn. Utah Beach engaged the tiring pacesetter on the turn into the homestretch and appeared on his way to a popular victory in the stretch when Lord Eddard Stark launched a late rally to his outside to prevail by a head.

    “I wasn’t so concerned with the horse in front. I was pretty happy with the trip we were getting because he was just sitting on the inside covered up like I wanted him, and then he swung him around when he had to,” said Orseno, who saddled Tell Me Some Lies for a 68-1 upset score last Saturday at Gulfstream. “I was happy he got a galloping trip, because in the morning that’s what the horse does all the time. He just gallops them into the ground. The riders always tell me the horse never gets tired. I couldn’t wait to run him this far.”

    Lord Eddard Stark raced two miles over a firm course in 3:20.28 to score his fifth victory in 28 starts. Utah Beach finished 1 ¾ lengths ahead of Six Minus.

    Utah Beach assumed the role of high-weight (122 pounds) following the Saturday morning scratch of The Grey Wizard, the 2-1 morning-line choice and 126-pound high-weight. The Ignacio Correas IV-trained favorite, who had finished third in the 1 ¼-mile Sycamore at Keeneland in his prior start, conceded five pounds to Lord Eddard Stark. comments powered by Disqus