Jenny Kellner
Belmont Park

Battling saddlecloth-to-saddlecloth with Fabulous Strike through the final yards, a determined Black Seventeen, the longest shot in the field at 23-1, got a head in front at the wire to take the 69th running of the Grade 1, $400,000 Vosburgh over a sloppy Belmont Park racetrack.

Ridden by Clinton Potts and trained by Brian Koriner, the California-based 4-year-old son of Is It True  sat just behind the leaders as Fabulous Strike, J Be K and First Defence wrangled through an opening quarter in 21.75. With the half going in 44.31, Black Seventeen launched his bid on the outside and collared Fabulous Strike in midstretch to prevail in 1:09.77 for the six furlongs.

“He always tried hard for me,” said Potts, who with the victory scored the second Grade 1 win of his career. “I knew he would like the slop because he ran well on it last year at Calder. I certainly didn’t look up at the odds board. He was a longshot, but I was not disappointed at that.”

Fabulous Strike, the 2007 Vosburgh winner who was the second choice in the field of seven, was three-quarters of a length in front of Kodiak Kowboy, who in turn was followed by Rockerfeller, J Be K, favored Lucky Island, and First Defence.

“He ran a good race,” said trainer Todd Beattie of Fabulous Strike. “He ripped his shoe off in the paddock and bent his shoe up. He had to run with a shoe that was sprung on him the whole way. I thought, considering that, it was a considerably good effort.”

Black Seventeen, who returned $49.60 for a $2 win bet, boosted his bankroll to $536,077 with the victory, his fourth in 10 lifetime starts and his first in more than 14 months. Off nearly a year with ankle problems after his last trip to the winner’s circle, on July 17, 2007, in the Grade 2 Carry Back Stakes at Calder Race Course, Black Seventeen returned in June to finish second in a listed stakes at Golden Gate Fields, was fifth in the Grade 2 Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga Race Course in July, and in his last start prior to the Vosburgh was second at Del Mar in another listed stakes.

“That was a long way to come to be 23-1 but this horse has won on this kind of racetrack,” said Koriner, who was saddling his first ever starter at Belmont Park. “We raced here instead of California because they have a new synthetic surface and I didn’t want to have to guess what it would be like.”

GRAND COUTURIER SURVIVES FOUL CLAIM TO WIN JOE HIRSCH

Marc Keller’s Grand Couturier withstood a claim of foul from the connections of runner-up Interpatation Saturday afternoon and his 10¼-length victory in the 32nd running of the Grade 1, $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic was made official, officially making the 5-year-old son of Grand Lodge a legitimate contender for the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita on October 25.

On a day marked by upsets in three previous Grade 1 races at Belmont Park, Grand Couturier would have none of that nonsense in the mile and a half turf feature over the yielding Widener Turf Course.

With longshot Presious Passion setting an early pace of 24.97, 50.52, 1:16.84 Grand Couturier tracked in fifth, keeping Dancing Forever pinned on the inside. He bumped briefly with longshot Interpatation on the backstretch, and wound up going around horses to avoid the tiring pacesetter.

At the head of the stretch, jockey Alan Garcia set his mount down and Grand Couturier went on to his impressive win in 2:34.84.

But nothing comes too easy for Grand Couturier, and trainer Bobby Barbara and jockey Kent Desormeaux lodged a claim of foul against the winner, claiming interference on the far turn as Interpatation was making a move up the rail, which was set at nine feet.

“My heart was beating, I’ll tell you,” said winning trainer Bobby Ribaudo. “It didn’t really look that bad. We watch races every day, so I felt pretty good. It was just incredible, the acceleration. He just exploded.”

Garcia, who earlier won the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational aboard Dynaforce and would run second to Curlin aboard Wanderin Boy in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup Invitational later in the card, felt they would withstand the objection.    

 “I’m not sure what the objection was about,” Garcia said. “I thought the race was pretty clean. My horse really loved the soft course. I just asked him for run on the far turn and then he just took off. He’s gotten really good.”

Grand Couturier, who returned $7.30 to win, has now won two of four starts this year and both wins are Grade 1s. He won Saratoga’s Sword Dancer for the second straight year back on August 16. He now figures to run in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita on October 25. Last year, he ran sixth in the Turf over a soft course at Monmouth Park.    

“This turf was in good shape today,” Ribaudo said. “The turf course at Monmouth last year scared us because he didn’t seem to get into it. It was a little deep with mud, and he didn’t really perform that day.”

Interpatation has been knocking on the door with a pair of third-place finishes leading to the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic.

“(Grand Couturier) just came over and took my path,” Desormeaux said. “We’re lucky we didn’t fall. He got by me around the turn. It didn’t need to happen, he obviously shut me off. My horse ran huge.”

Summer Patriot, who had won three of his last four starts before Saturday, was nosed for the place.

“I don’t know, he got tired,” said trainer Barclay Tagg. “I guess he went the long way around and he had to make up a lot of ground, so I guess it was a little tough on him. I think if he had a little better trip, we would have been better off, but who knows? It was a big step up for him, but he ran well. Third by a nose in a Grade 1, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Strike a Deal, Proudinsky, Presious Passion, Dancing Forever and Jade’s Revenge trailed.