NEW YORK (AP) — Sahara Sky came barreling down the middle of the track and caught Cross Traffic at the end to win the $750,000 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park on Monday.
The finish was a thriller. Cross Traffic took the lead in the stretch and seemed headed to victory before Sahara Sky unleashed his run from near the back of the nine-horse field. Under the urging of jockey Joel Rosario, Sahara Sky made up ground with every stride and won in a photo finish.
The winning time was 1:34.17. Trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, the 5-year-old Sahara Sky returned $11.60, $6 and $3.80. Flat Out was third.
In earlier races, Midnight Lucky won the Acorn Stakes and Tiz Miz Sue won the Ogden Phipps Handicap.
