Hymn Book wins Belmont's Firethorn Stakes
October 20, 2011NEW YORK (AP) - Hymn Book, the 1-5 favorite, rallied to beat Cactus Charlie by 21/4 lengths on Thursday in the $60,000 Firethorn Stakes at Belmont Park.
Trained by Shug McGaughey, Hymn Book improved to 2-1-0 in three starts on Belmont's main track. He was sixth in his prior race, the Bernard Baruch Handicap on the turf at Saratoga.
Javier Castellano was aboard as the 5-year-old gelding ran the 1 1-16 miles on the muddy strip in 1:45.14, paying $2.70, $2.40 and $2.10. Cactus Charlie returned $4.70 and $2.70. Schoolyard Dreams paid $2.70 to show.