Sahara Sky stops Cross Traffic by a nose in Met Mile

Sahara Sky (left) landed the winning Met Mile blow in the final strides (NYRA/Adam Coglianese) The hard luck for Todd Pletcher’s lightly-raced Cross Traffic continued Monday at Belmont Park when the gray was edged in the last jump by California invader Sahara Sky in the Grade 1, $750,000 Metropolitan Handicap. Caught in the final strides of last month’s Westchester by Flat Out, Cross Traffic was able to turn the tables on that rival in the Met Mile, but could not withstand the late surge of Sahara Sky, who posted the win by a nose in a time of 1:34 over a fast track. The 4-1 third choice, Sahara Sky returned $11.60, $6 and $3.80. Despite ducking into the gap leaving the gate, Cross Traffic quickly recovered from his inside post and set the pace through splits of :22 2/5, :44 4/5 and 1:09 1/5. After turning back a challenge from Mark Valeski turning for home, Cross Traffic opened up again by 1 1/2 lengths a furlong from the wire. However, Sahara Sky, who trailed for the opening half-mile, charged down the middle of the track under Joel Rosario and prevailed in the tightest of photos.

“I was thinking I won, but it was so close and I was so far to the outside,
sometimes it’s hard to tell,” Rosario said. “I thought we had a head in front,
but the angle was different and I didn’t know.”

Flat Out, the 5-2 favorite, suffered his first defeat in five attempts at
Belmont. The two-time Jockey Club Gold Cup hero encountered trouble with Swagger
Jack midway around the turn, according to jockey Junior Alvarado and trainer
Bill Mott.

“At the three-eighths pole I had a hole and wanted to get in a better
position so he could pick it up, and it took a while for him to get that
position. And then the hole closed and I had to check him,” Alvarado said. “That
definitely cost us the race. He should have won that race. After that
(incident), I thought he was going to finish last after all the bumping and
clipping heels and everything. I thought he wouldn’t give me anything after that
but he did. He should have won that race.”

Flat Out rallied to finish third, 3 1/2 lengths behind Cross Traffic.

“I think he had a pretty good head of steam going and a horse came (over) and
it looked like he went boom, this way, and boom, that way; he was bouncing back
and forth a couple of times. (Junior Alvarado) said it cost him a lot of
momentum. It’s pretty hard for me to fault (Junior); at that time it looked like
the path of least resistance — until he got there. Just when he got there, it
looked like the other horse dropped in. But, he put in a good effort.”

The order of finish was completed by Mark Valeski, Fed Biz, Fort Loudon,
Swagger Jack, Handsome Mike and Discreet Dancer.

A happy Hall of Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer celebrated his first win in the Met Mile (Harold Roth/Horsephotos.com) Sahara Sky, co-owned by trainer Jerry Hollendorder and Kim Lloyd’s Sweetwater Stables, was winning his third graded stakes of the year. His two prior wins came in a pair of Grade 2 events at Santa Anita: the Palos Verdes and the San Carlos. He had raced only once in stakes company prior to his one-length win in the January 19 Palos Verdes, finishing seventh in the 2011 El Cajon at Del Mar. Last season, the dark bay won twice in allowance company, but did not start between June 22 and the Palos Verdes. A month following the Palos Verdes, Sahara Sky came from off the pace to take the San Carlos over seven furlongs. Last time, the five-year-old ran out of real estate when a fast-closing second to Swagger Jack in the seven-furlong Carter Handicap at Aqueduct. His record now stands at 16-7-3-4, $886,680.

“I’ll take him back to California and give him a good, long time between
races like we do, and we’ll make a new decision on where to go,” Hollendorfer
said. “We give him a lot of time between races, and he rewards us every time.

“The way he ran today, it looks like he could get off a little more ground.
I’ll watch the films and watch the gallop out and see what I think about that,
but it might be a possibility to look at (longer races). I don’t want to keep
flying him across the country, though.”

Bred in Florida by Martin Stables, Sahara Sky was produced by the Grade
3-winning Seeking the Sky, a daughter of Storm Cat and the Grade 2-winning
Seeking Regina. This extended family includes Grade 1 winner Bachelor Beau,
Grade 2 winner Just Jenda and Grade 3 victor All Squared Away.

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