Trainer Saffie Joseph Guides Skippylongstocking to Victory in Michelob Ultra Challenger at Tampa Bay Downs

Barbadian trainer Saffie Joseph found himself in winners’ row at Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday when 3-5 favourite Skippylongstocking dismissed his challengers to win the US$100 000 Grade 3 Michelob Ultra Challenger for the second straight year.

Going a mile and sixteenth for the four-year-olds and upward, Skippylongstocking stalked the pace from second under jockey Tyler Gaffalione before taking charge at the top of the stretch and dominating the lane to reach the wire 2-½ lengths clear in a time of one minute, 32.12 seconds.

The victory was the first in three starts since winning the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic last August, and was a welcome return to form following the five-year-old bay’s flop in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park in January.

“It was great to get him back in the winner’s circle, especially coming back from his last race. We had to go over him really good to make sure everything was proper and to be extra cautious. We covered every base,” Joseph said.

“It was great today to see him come back and run a good race. There was a lot of pressure. This was an important race for him and an important race for us.”

Seventeen-to-one outsider Impacto outsprinted Skippylongstocking to the lead, posting fractions of 23.80 seconds for the quarter and 46.94 for the half.

Skippylongstocking chased from second on the outside while 38-1 longshot Mbagnick settled in third and 8-1 bet Dash Attack and 3-1 choice Sherlock’s Jewel battled for position.

Gaffalione made his move on the final turn, darting Skippylongstocking to the front to lead the field off the final turn, and control the race in the final metres.

The win moved Skippylongstocking’s record to 7-2-4 from 22 starts, and career earnings of US$1.6 million. (CMC)