Lunar Victory wins Shipman Stakes at Saratoga
July 23, 2012SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) - Favored Lunar Victory, ridden by Junior Alvarado, pulled away from Johannesburg Smile leaving the three-sixteenths pole and took a 2 1/2-length win in the $100,000 Evan Shipman Stakes for horses bred in New York on Monday at Saratoga Race Course.
The victory was the third straight for the Bill Mott-trained 5-year-old, who ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.30 and paid $4.40, $3.00 and $2.20. Sailmate, the runner-up with a late rally, paid $3.30 and $2.30. Johannesburg Smile, third of five after fading in the stretch, paid $2.10 for show.
Lunar Victory earned $60,000 for his owner, Juddmonte Farm.