Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas believed from the start the $525,000 he paid last year for the chestnut colt Dublin at the Keeneland yearling sale was money well spent. On Monday, the enormous son of Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner Afleet Alex backed up his optimism, powering through the stretch to win the 105th running of the Grade 1, $300,000 Three Chimneys Hopeful on closing day at Saratoga Race Course.

After stumbling at the start of the race, Dublin quickly recovered and raced mid-pack before gathering momentum on the turn and taking off in the stretch. Under a stern drive the final eighth of a mile by jockey Jamie Theriot, Dublin drifted out near the finish while defeating late-running Aspire by two lengths. Aikenite, a 20-1 shot, finished third in the 12-horse field.

The winner, out of the Grade 1 Ballerina winner Classy Mirage, went off as the 3.10-to-1 favorite and paid $8.20 for a $2 win bet, running the seven-furlong race in 1:23.52. Dublin’s sire, Afleet Alex, won the Hopeful in 2004, too, with a weaving run through the stretch.

After the impressive victory, Lukas, 74, who won his fifth Hopeful, took great pride in having picked out the horse for owners William Mack and Robert Baker.

“This was my No. 1 pick in the sales,” Lukas said. “I still haven’t lost my eye in that (department).”

The race began with a sharp duel between second-choice Enumerate and long shot Flatter Than Me through a quarter mile in 22.10 seconds. At the half-mile mark, Westover Wildcat, steadied early, made a bold move up on the outside and took a slim advantage. Backtalk, the winner of the Grade 2 Sanford, also made a sharp mid-race move to contention.

Off the turn, however, Dublin took command as Westover Wildcat gave way and won under hard right-handed urging.

“He stumbled badly at the break, but he recovered very quickly,” Theriot said. “He was a little green coming down the lane. If I hit him right-handed, he’d duck left a little; if I hit him left-handed, he’d duck right. But he’ll grow out of that. I think (more) distance won’t be a problem for him. We will see a different horse when he goes two turns. My idea was to come to Saratoga and find myself a (Kentucky) Derby horse. We think he’s a good one.”

"He has a long, rangy stride,” Lukas said. “He’s got a lot of balance to him. He’s pretty gifted. I like to play in the main arena — these 2-year olds, when they turn 3, that’s the name of the game. Bill Mack and Bob Baker are the reason this horse is here.”

With the victory, Dublin joins Deposit Ticket (1990), Salt Lake (1991), Hennessy (1995) and Yonaguska (2000) as Hopeful winners trained by Lukas.

The trainer said he would like to stretch out Dublin around two turns in his next start but would entertain a possible start in the Grade 1, $400,000 Champagne, a one-turn mile on October 10 at Belmont Park.

Lukas said he would send Dublin back to his base at Churchill Downs and plot his course.

“The first thing we’re going to do is pack him in Styrofoam, and I’ll put my layaway down next to him,” Lukas joked.