By Dick Downey

It was a longshot bettor's paradise as I'll Have Another upset the Grade II Robert B. Lewis field at odds of 43-1.

As expected, Sunland Park shipper Isn't He Clever took the early lead in the field of eight. I'll Have Another was close to the lead tracking in second up the backstretch, with Groovin' Solo and Liaison stalking those two. Isn't He Clever registered times of :23.03, :46.77 and 1:10.52 during the first six furlongs. At that juncture, Isn't He Clever began to tire.

I'll Have Another began mounting a rally in the far turn and took over entering the stretch. Midway through the lane, Groovin' Solo ran into the path of Liaison, who was slowing down noticeably, unseating Rafael Bejarano.

Meanwhile, I'll Have Another and jockey Mario Gutierrez were gone. Empire Way made a late run from last position -- he was still sixth after six furlongs -- to finish second, beaten 2 3/4 lengths. Groovin' Solo crossed the wire third.

Rousing Sermon finished fourth. He was 6 3/4 lengths in arrears overall after running evenly in fifth or sixth. At the furlong marker, he was still sixth, but he lost 3 1/2 lengths on the leader from there on.

Stewards disqualified Groovin' Solo, ridden by Victor Espinoza, and placed him last, moving Isn't He Clever into fourth. Officially, it means that Groovin' Solo was unplaced because Liaison did not finish the race. After Isn't He Clever came Sky Kingdom and Chips All In, the latter beaten 38 lengths at 12-1 odds.

At this post, it did not appear Bejarano was hurt. There's no word on Liaison yet, but there was no immediate cause for concern. He was part of a Bob Baffert entry that was unplaced in the Lewis -- and inexplicably so even if Liaison hadn't gone down. Liaison was the 7-5 favorite, and Sky Kingdom was third choice at 7-2. Rousing Sermon was 3-1.

The winner hadn't raced since Sept. 5, when he was beaten 19 lengths in the Grade I Hopeful Stakes. Trained by Doug O'Neill, I'll Have Another worked three times at Santa Anita after the Hopeful, then was away from the worktab from Oct. 1 until Dec. 11. He put in six workouts at Hollywood Park before the Lewis.

Before the Hopeful, I'll Have Another had won his debut at Del Mar and finished second to Creative Cause in the Grade II Best Pal Stakes.

He was timed in 1:40.84 in the Lewis.

Monster payoffs lit up the toteboard. I'll Have Another paid $88.60, $35.80 and $12.00.The $2 exacta paid 399.00, the $1 trifecta paid $3,461.00, and the $1 superfecta returned $18,554.20.

Trained by Doug O'Neill for Paul Reddam, I'll Have Another is by Flower Alley and is out of Arch's Gal, by Arch. He was bred in Kentucky by Harvey Clarke.

Equibase chart

CONNECTIONS QUOTES

Mario Gutierrez: “This is my biggest win. It’s a great thrill.”

Doug O'Neill, winning trainer:  “He’s an incredibly talented colt, and we decided to take a chance in here. We thought he could hit the board and we’d move forward, but he ran unbelievable. Mario gave him a great ride. He’s always trained fantastic, but we never saw this coming to be honest with you. This is incredible. We’ll look at the Santa Anita Derby if all goes well.

“Paul (Reddam) saw Mario ride about a month or so ago here and said, ‘If we ever get in trouble, think about using that kid.’ That’s how that came up. Then he came over and worked the horse; he worked great and it couldn’t have worked out any better. We just didn’t want to get into a head and head crazy duel, not get caught up in a speed duel, and he did just that.”

Assistant trainer Dennis O'Neill: “We bought him at the OBS in April of last year and we’ve loved him since day one. He trained like a really good horse from day one, trained like a two-turn horse from day one. He came out of his Saratoga race with sore shins, so when we got him back going, Paul said to take our time with him.

“We paid $35,000 for him. It’s great for Paul. Paul’s put a lot of money in the game, and this is fantastic for Paul.”

Rafael Bejarano, aboard Liaison:  “I had my hole when I saw two horses that split out. I had plenty of room in between horses. When I asked my horse to go, he was coming little by little, but the horse on the outside  was lugging in a little bit. I started screaming to let him know I was there and (Victor Espinoza) tried to correct his horse, but at the same time when he corrected his horse, he was just coming in too much.

"The horse on the inside (Isn’t He Clever) didn’t even give me a chance to check his horse because he was coming out too. At least the outside horse (Groovin Solo)tried to correct himself but the other horse from the inside (Isn’t He Clever/Corey Nakatani) didn’t do that. He just kept going and was coming out little by little, but he didn’t even try to check his horse. That’s why it felt so tight and I clipped heels. I ended up clipping heels with Victor’s horse because Corey Nakatani’s horse was coming out and it was enough to push me out. Other than that, I feel good. I’m just a little sore.

Victor Espinoza, aboard Groovin' Solo: “I thought the inside horse moved out. I tried to help as much as I can. When another guy asks for help, I move out as much as I can. There’s nothing else I can do. I think he ran great.”

Corey Nakatani, aboard Isn't He Clever: “My horse was running well, but he just got tired.”

Bob Baffert, trainer of Liaison and Sky Kingdom: “This was a weird run race. (Liaison) was up there, but he was a little fresh today. He got a little rank with (Bejarano) and then he was trying to get him to relax and get back, but he just emptied out.

"(Sky Kingdom) broke and then he got shuffled again, and on this track you have to really ride the track a little bit. You’ve got to be up there close. I was disappointed in him, but once we go a mile and an eighth, he’ll be better. But this track is a little speedy. I thought he would run better than that.”