Multiple graded stakes winner JUSTIN PHILLIP pulled away down the stretch to take the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. at Saratoga. Sitting in a stalking position the first part of this six-furlong sprint, the 5-year-old son of FIRST SAMURAI caught the frontrunners outside the 1/8-pole and pulled away to win by two lengths in the quick time of 1:08 2/5. The winning time was just 2/5’s off the track record and he recorded a 109 Beyer Speed Figure. This win pushesJUSTIN PHILLIP‘s earnings over the million-dollar mark to $1,118,437.
In last year’s running of this race, JUSTIN PHILLIP finished just a neck back after being forced out in late stretch. He has won or placed in 10 graded stakes at five different tracks, including a victory in the Woody Stephens S.-G2 by 3 1/4 lengths. Bred in Kentucky by Oakbrook Farm, JUSTIN PHILLIP races for Zayat Stables and trainer Steve Asmussen.