Even before he won the Haskell at Monmouth Park with Touch Gold, his Triple Crown star, David Hofmans knew he would have a memorable day at the races.

His fresh new colt, Awesome Again, in only the fourth start of his career, won the $250,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga Race Course today by three lengths on a sloppy track, and Hofmans suddenly found himself with a high hand in the chase for 3-year-old honors.

While Touch Gold has weathered the Triple Crown wars, Awesome Again did not race at the age of 2 and then raced only three times before going to the post today as the second choice to Behrens, who finished fourth.

But he was awesome again, all right. He ran seventh after three-quarters of a mile and still was third entering the homestretch, but he switched into high gear and passed Affirmed Success and Glitman as they flew home.

At the wire, Awesome Again had three lengths on Glitman, who had a length on Affirmed Success, with Behrens three-quarters of a length back in fourth. Awesome Again covered the mile and one-eighth in 1:51 and paid $8.10 for a $2 bet to win.

It was the first loss for Affirmed Success and Behrens, who each had won their first three races, while Awesome Again won for the third straight time in four starts.

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/04/sports/awesome-again-takes-dandy.html