A spot in the Kentucky Oaks might not be in the picture yet for Rick Pitino and Zuby Ejiofor but the St. John’s basketball duo is hoping Thursday afternoon was the first of many victories this season, albeit in a different fashion.
Pitino’s long talked about thoroughbred horse named after his dominant Red Storm center, ZUBY, entered the starting gates for the first time in his career at Aqueduct Race Track and rallied through the stretch to break her maiden ($12.44) at first asking.
The filly was trained by George Weaver and ridden to victory by jockey Eric Cancel, beating the eight-horse field by three and a half lengths with only one other horse not having at least one start in their career.