Beach Patrol gets narrow win in Secretariat Stakes
In the closest of the three Grade I races on Saturday at Arlington International Racecourse, Beach Patrol had a head in front of Long Island Sound at the wire of the 40th running of the $450,000 Secretariat Stakes.
The narrow win for Beach Patrol was his third in six starts this season and gave trainer Chad Brown his first win in the Secretariat.
Jockey Florent Geroux rode the 3-year-old son of Lemon Drop Kid for the first time, and it was smooth sailing from the get go despite the outside No. 9 post.
Beach Patrol sat third behind the front-runners almost all the way before pulling even with Long Island Sound and Scissors and Tape on the final turn.
"He broke well from the gate," Geroux said. "I was able to stalk and when I asked him to go he was very brave. Long Island Sound didn't give it up, and my horse showed a lot of heart."
Beach Patrol paid $7.60 as the lukewarm favorite in the field of 3-year-olds going a quarter-mile on the turf in 2:01.95.
"Florent rode a beautiful race from a difficult post," Brown said. "This horse has been training really well. I want to thank Sol Kumin and James Covello, the other partners who put up the money to buy the horse, and their patience.
"His first start (sixth at the Grade II Penn Mile) didn't go so well. But they didn't worry about it. They were in it for the long term and it paid off today."