Alogon gets the neck in over Bold Journey. (Susie Raisher)
By Keith McCalmont
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Charles T. Matses’ Kentucky-homebred Alogon held off the onrushing New York-bred Bold Journey to post a narrow neck victory in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Belmont Turf Sprint, a six-furlong test over the outer turf for 3-year-olds and up, at Belmont at the Big A.
Trained by Ned Allard and piloted by Dylan Davis, the 6-year-old California Chrome gelding earned his second local stakes score after dead-heating for victory with New York-bred Works for Me in the Listed Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship in November here. Alogon was trying the Belmont Turf Sprint for the third time after finishing third last year and fourth in 2023.
Dancing Buck, the 2022 winner of this event, was hustled to the front by Kendrick Carmouche to show the way through an opening quarter-mile in 22.02 seconds over the firm turf under pressure from the Manny Franco-piloted Senbei.
Alogon stalked to the outside from third position in front of Live High Live Low and 4-5 favorite Twenty Six Black as Senbei pressed pacesetting Dancing Buck into the turn with Bold Journey beginning an inside move from the back of the seven-horse field.
“Ned gave me free rein here – if we were to break sharp then I would’ve taken the frontrunning style, but I saw Kendrick and Manny going onto it, so I opted to sit third there in a comfortable spot,” Davis said.
Dancing Buck cut the corner through a half-mile in 44.20 but Alogon loomed large and wrested the lead a sixteenth from home as Junior Alvarado angled Bold Journey off the rail and launched a bid to the outside of a retreating Senbei. Alogon continued to find more late in the lane and secured the narrow win in a final time of 1:07.63.
“Alogon wanted to challenge them early, I thought it would’ve made it too much for me late, so I took a little hold of him, let him settle down until the top of the lane, then asked him there. He did great. He fought off some challengers,” Davis said.
It was one-length back to the wide-rallying Twenty Six Black in third with Senbei, Dancing Buck, Run Curtis Run and Live High Live Low rounding out the order of finish. Main-track only entrant Acoustic Ave was scratched.
Alogon picked up his first win in five starts this year, having earned placings when third in both the Listed Elusive Quality here in May and the Grade 1 Jaipur in June at Saratoga Race Course. He arrived from a neck second in the 5 1/2-furlong Da Hoss on September 6 at Colonial Downs won by Doncho, who had entered from a 5 1/2-furlong optional claiming win on August 8 at Ellis Park where his final time of 59.75 seconds on the firm turf broke Cogburn’s North American record of 59.80 set in last year’s Jaipur.
Allard indicated Alogon could return to the Big A for a title defense in the $150,000 Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship on November 1.
“He ran super races [this year] and we got beat a sliver the last time – one jump after the wire, we were there. This was a sweet victory,” Allard said. “He rode him absolutely perfectly. It was a horse race, that’s for sure. It wasn’t a cinch. We’ll probably come back in the Aqueduct one, and that will probably wrap up his year.”
ALOGON wins the Grade 3 Belmont Turf Sprint Stakes with @DavisJockey aboard for trainer Edward Allard. pic.twitter.com/Q4XkXH5Jhn
— NYRA () (@TheNYRA) September 27, 2025
The Hall of Famer Bill Mott trained Bold Journey, a graded winner on dirt, settled for his fourth runner-up effort in his last five turf outings.
“He is a hard-trying guy,” Alvarado said. “He did what I asked him, fell a little back, pace was a little quick, so we came from the off the pace. When I asked him, he was there for me, just fell a couple steps short today. He tried very hard for me. He is an old pro.”
Alogon banked $110,000 in victory while improving his record to 24-7-3-6. He returned $11.36 for a $2 win bet. His previous stakes scores include the 2022 Wolf Hill at Monmouth Park and last year’s Listed Parx Dash.
Live racing resumes Sunday at Belmont at the Big A with a nine-race card featuring the $150,000 Gio Ponti in Race 8. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
