by Phil Janack

Cutting back in distance and facing older horses for the first time, Visionaire snapped a three-race losing streak on Thursday at Saratoga Race Course.

Visionaire was reserved off a fast early pace and closed with a rush to win the 6 1/2-furlong allowance/optional claiming race by one length.

The 2.45-to-1 favorite in a field reduced to six by three scratches, Visionaire hit the wire in 1:17.15 on a sloppy track under jockey Alan Garcia. Knights Cross finished second followed by Out of Gwedda.

"He just needed to win, and his pedigree says he should probably cut back a little," trainer Michael Matz said. "I thought 6 1/2 [furlongs] was going to be too short for him. I was a little worried. I didn't think there was going to be enough pace, but there was quite a bit of pace. They went pretty fast. It set up nice for him."

Visionaire acted up in the starting gate and had to be backed out. He broke well but dropped well behind pacesetter Knights Cross, who led through fractions of :21.52 and :44.74.

Garcia steered Visionaire through traffic to find the inside, sprinting to the lead past the eighth pole for his first victory since the Gotham Stakes (G3) on March 8 at Aqueduct.

Fifth in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G1) and 12th in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), Visionaire entered off a third-place finish to Pyro in the Northern Dancer Stakes (G3) on June 14 at Churchill Downs. Thursday marked his first non-stakes start since winning an entry-level allowance race on January 4 at Gulfstream Park.

"He hadn't run since the Northern Dancer, and the idea was to see if he could run in the King's Bishop [Stakes (G1)]," Matz said. "It worked out. If everything comes out fine, we'll try to point toward the King's Bishop."

The seven-furlong King's Bishop will be run on August 23 at Saratoga on the undercard of the $1-million Travers Stakes Presented by Shadwell Farm (G1).

Phil Janack is a New York-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent