Tango Dances To Victory

Tommy Stack's Alexander Tango took the Grade One Garden City Stakes on her American debut at Belmont Park on Saturday evening.

A winner of the 1000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown in May, she was last seen chasing home Eagle Mountain in the Royal Whip Stakes at the Curragh.

Despite sitting at the rear throughout, she was brought with a great run down the outside by jockey Shaun Bridgmohan to beat Bit of Whimsy by three-quarters of a length.

'My filly was very relaxed,' said Bridgmohan.

'She's used to those kinds of races in Europe, where they go slow and pick it up late. I was very confident at the eighth pole. Once she got daylight, she just picked it up and ran home.'

Fozzy Stack, son and assistant to winning trainer Tommy, said he was initially concerned with how far back the filly was in the early stages.

'We wanted to go with a local rider because she got in light and some of the European riders would have had trouble making weight,' said Stack.

'Ideally, we wanted to be mid-pack early. We thought she would be well-suited for American racing, because she runs best with a good pace in front of her. I thought we were done on the backstretch; the pace was slow and she was farther back than I thought she would be.

'She'll stay here for the Flower Bowl Invitational Stakes (Grade One) on September 29,' he told www.bloodhorse.com.

(C) PA Sport