Bob Baffert and Martin Garcia have hooked up to win yet another graded stakes event. This time it was the Grade 3 Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows with Concord Point. Martin Garcia has had quite the hot hand lately and this race was no different. He stalked the early pacesetter and drew off to an easy 8 1/2 length win over Thiskyhasnolimit and Winslow Homer.
Concord Point broke the track record with a final time of 1:40.37 for the 8.5 furlongs distance. The son of Tapit easily bested the old time of 1:40.82 set in 2003 by Excessivepleasure.
Holy Bull Stakes winner Winslow Homer had a great trip behind the speed, but when asked for his best run he did not respond. He was classy enough to grab third place. Thiskyhasnolimit rallied for second place honors after winning the Matt Winn Stakes last out at Churchill Downs.
It looks like Concord Point really loved the extra distance and traditional dirt surface. This bodes well for his chances of making a splash in the Breeders Cup at Churchill Downs later this year. Look for Bob Baffert to campaign him masterfully until November.
The feature race of the day at Prairie Meadows was the Grade 2 Cornhusker Handicap and it was won by Shadowbdancing. The five-year-old son of Montbrook finished second in this race last year after setting the pace. This time he took a stalking position and it ended up in victory for jockey Eddie Razo Jr. Shadowbdancing won for the 10th time in 24 starts increasing his lifetime earnings $622,495.
Seeking The Title finally registered a break through win in the Iowa Oaks earlier in the card. She was piloted by jockey Calvin Borel. You may recall that she lost her jockey in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes a few months ago. Harissa was second.
Perhaps the most important horse to race at Prairie Meadows in terms of future potential this weekend was Majesticperfection. He won the Iowa Sprint Handicap EASILY on Friday night in 1:07.24 for six furlongs. Jockey Shaun Bridgmahon never asked him for his best run, but he threw a few crosses at the son of Harlan’s Holiday. Trainer Steve Asmussen has to be thinking Breeders Cup Sprint after that effort.
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