By Mary Dixon Reynolds and Nick Costa
Harvey Wallbanger (by Congrats) ran a ‘bang’ up race, coming from last place and riding the the rail to spring a 29-1 upset in the $350,000 G2 Fastip Tipton Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park Saturday afternoon.
The Kenny McPeek trainee was never worse than second in four previous races, breaking his maiden in his last start at Churchill Downs. Ridden by Brian Hernandez, Jr. Harvey Wallbanger dropped to the rear of the field as Epic Dreamer dictated the pace through sharp fractions of :23:18 and :46:76.
On the far turn, Harvey Wallbanger began to advance along the inside while the unbeaten 3-5 favorite, Maximus Mischief, went after the pacesetter. Last seen winning the G2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct in December, Maximus Mischief took over the lead heading into the final eighth, but Harvey Wallbanger was resolute along the inside and edged away to win by a length in a final time clocked 1:43:69.
Everfast, the longest shot on the tote board at 129-1, nipped Maximus Mischief late to get the place spot. Epic Dreamer finished fourth to complete the superfecta.
Winning owner Harold Lerner said, “We felt like we had to give him a shot today, he’s been training really well”
The Holy Bull Stakes is a points scoring race towards the Kentucky Derby, offering 10-4-2-1 to the top four finishers.
