Underwood snares Triple Crown leg
|Underwood capped the day of longshots, beating Triple Crown leg winners Dewey Boulevard and
Radio Active in a thrilling stretch run rally to capture the third stage crown before a stunned Sunday
crowd at the San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite.
Never straying too far from the quick starting Dewey Boulevard, the second leg winner, and surprise
first stage champion Radioactive, Underwood, the far third pick in a compact four horse field, put
on a late charge from the inner rail at the top of the stretch then galloped past a fading Dewey Boulevard
in the last 150 meters to fashion out a three length victory over the punishing 2,000 meter distance.
Expertly handled by JB Guce, Underwood also gained ground by running in the inner rail majority
of the race as Dewey Boulevard and Radioactive opted to race three or four wide to buck the spots softened
up by the overnight rain.
But Underwood ran true to form with Guce urging his mount midway through the backstretch and
the threeyearold chestnut colt responded, closing in on the pacesetters at the far turn before storming
past Radioactive and eventually catching up Dewey Boulevard as they made the final turn.