“I thought a lot of him as a 3-year-old,” trainer Phil D’Amato said. “He had some unlucky trips in some pretty strong races his last two as a 3-year-old. We gave him plenty of time off, did a minor throat procedure on him, and he’s come back with a vengeance as a 4-year-old. We decided to take a big shot here and got a great ride by Geovanni Franco.”