Winchell Thoroughbreds and Corridor of Fame coach Steve Asmussen did greater than win the $300,000 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap (G3) July 6 with their millionaire Purple Route One . In addition they took residence second place when front-running Unload held the runner-up spot within the richest race of the Prairie Meadows season.
Unload—to whom the betting public paid scant respect at 66-1 odds, apparently viewing him as merely a pacemaker for his extra completed stablemate—did guarantee tempo for Purple Route One, however he additionally gave him a scare. He led till the closing 100 yards of the race earlier than fatigue lastly set in, and Purple Route One rallied to prevail by a couple of half-length.
Velocitor crossed the wire in third however was demoted to fourth by stewards after an inquiry. Ain’t Life Grand , fourth passing the profitable publish, was elevated to 3rd, having been bumped by Velocitor.
Successful rider Cristian Torres noticed the bumping between these horses to his inside and felt assured stewards wouldn’t take any motion in opposition to his horse.
“I felt I used to be good. I stored my lane on the surface,” he mentioned.
Purple Route One raced 1 1/8 miles on a quick observe in 1:49.62, returning $9 to win.
Favored Hit Present by no means threatened and was unplaced.
A homebred for Winchell Thoroughbreds, Purple Route One is by Gun Runner out of the Tapit mare Purple Home . One of many nation’s high sires, Gun Runner stands for a personal payment at Three Chimneys Farm.
A race earlier than, Henro , making his first begin in a route after six profession begins in sprints, upset closely favored Only a Contact by a head within the night’s secondary characteristic, the $250,000 Iowa Derby.
Monitoring a contested tempo, Henro saved floor round each turns and located a seam within the stretch that gave him the daylight he wanted. The diminutive Collected gelding then determinedly handed his bigger rival. He raced 1 1/16 miles beneath Rafael Bejarano in 1:42.72.
Chris Hartman trains the Brereton Jones-bred Henro for homeowners JD Thoroughbreds and Joey Keith Davis. He paid $11.60 for a $2 win wager.
Blue Grass Stakes (G1) runner-up Only a Contact, returning after a last-place end within the Could 4 Kentucky Derby (G1), was a transparent runner-up, 3 1/4 lengths forward of weakening pacesetter Northern Flame .
Video: Iowa Derby (BT)
Earlier Motion
- Gilder Schwarz Farm’s late-running Arrogate filly Simply Basking ($5.60) triumphed in her stakes debut, swooping previous rivals to win going away by 4 3/4 lengths within the $220,500 Iowa Oaks. Chris Landeros piloted the Ian Wilkes trainee, who was hand-timed racing 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.40. Previously a grade 3, the Iowa Oaks was run beneath listed standing this 12 months after it was downgraded by the American Graded Stakes Committee.
- The evening’s Thoroughbred stakes motion kicked off with a Prairie Gold Juvenile Stakes victory from White Sands , a now 2-for-2 daughter of Into Mischief who’s a half sister to 2021 champion male sprinter Jackie’s Warrior . She drew off by 13 3/4 lengths and received geared down within the $101,750 race beneath Joe Bravo with 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:04.18. The Wesley Ward trainee races for the Coolmore-affiliated Mrs. John Magnier and Mrs. Paul Shanahan and paid $5.20 to win.
