Aruna wins Belmont's Sheepshead Bay Stakes
May 26, 2012NEW YORK (AP) - Aruna asserted her class Saturday, beating Hit It Rich by 1 1/4 lengths on Saturday in the $200,000 Sheepshead Bay Stakes at Belmont Park.
After running in four straight Grade 1s, Aruna proved best on the class drop into the Grade 2 stakes for fillies and mares on the turf.
Ramon Dominguez was aboard for trainer Graham Motion as the 5-year-old got her seventh win in 15 starts.
The time was 2:15.47 for the 1 3/8 miles over the course rated good
Aruna paid $6.10, $3.10 and $2.60 as the 2-1 favorite. Hit It Rich returned $4.90 and $3.10, and Principal Role paid $2.80 to show.
Confusion at the start led to a revised order of finish. Mystical Star was disqualified from third and placed last for breaking through the gate before the start. Magical Cat, unsettled by Mystical Star's premature lunge, was declared a nonstarter, and all bets on her were refunded.