SARATOGA SPRINGS, New York (CMC):

Jamaican rider Rajiv Maragh won a stretch battle with rank long-shot Trinniberg to win the feature US$250,000 Three Chimneys Hopeful Stakes aboard favourite Currency Swap at Saratoga on Monday.

Trinniberg set a hot pace in the seven-furlong event but Maragh unleashed a furious rally in the last two furlongs to overhaul the leader and rush to the wire three-quarter lengths clear, in a time of one minute, 26.16 seconds.

I fell into the spot that was pretty ideal for me, on the outside in the clear, where my horse is really happy. From there, I felt like he was going to give me a good finish, and he sure did," said the 26-year-old.

"From the eighth pole home, you just belly down and try to get everything out of your horse. The other horse put up a really strong challenge. I wasn't sure I was going to win it until after I passed the wire."

Running on a rain-soaked dirt track, Trinniberg shot to the lead from the break, zipping through the quarter mile in 21:91 seconds. Vexor tracked from second, followed by Hunt Crossing with Currency Swap in fourth.

Maragh then moved Currency Swap into second at the half-mile pole, climbing to within 1-1/2 lengths of the leader on the turn.

In the stretch, Maragh chased with the two-year-old bay colt, slowing hauling in Trinniberg before getting to the wire first.

The victory was one of two on the season-ending 11-race card as he also opened the day with a win aboard Cindy's Joy going 1-1/8 miles on dirt.

He finished the summer season with 23 wins and earnings of US$2,053,432.