|
Blumin Attitude rallied from well off the pace to defeat Hot Chocolate by a half length and capture the $20,000-added Dowd Mile Stakes Saturday at Fonner Park.
The Deanna Cranwell-owned and Jim Cranwell-trained Blumin Attitude showed a winning attitude in his third race of the season, as jockey Damon Leeds closed strongly on the outside to pass race-time favorite Okie Dozer in the middle of the stretch and just held off a fast-closing Hot Chocolate for the win.
Leeds said he didn't really realize until he had almost reached the finish line, how close Hot Chocolate and rider Lee Sensenbach came to winning the race.
"When we got past Okie Dozer, I thought we would win by two or three lengths," Leeds said. "I didn't see Lee bringing (Hot Chocolate) up the rail, until the race was almost over."
Sensenbach knew that he had plenty of horse with the long shot Hot Chocolate, trained by Joanna Lambert, but had little running room.
"If I could have gotten him started a little sooner, I think we could have caught Damon at the wire," Sensenbach said. "We just didn't have room to run. When a hole finally opened up, we took it but just ran out of stretch."
Leeds wasn't alone in not knowing where Hot Chocolate was. Veteran handler Jim Cranwell said he didn't see him while watching the race on the TV monitors, either.
"I thought once we got past Okie Dozer we were home," Cranwell said. "Then I noticed (Hot Chocolate) splitting horses and coming at us. I got a little worried."
Even though Leeds felt Blumin Attitude tired a bit in the last few yards, the five-year-old Nebraska-bred had just enough in the tank to win in a time of 1:41 for the mile distance.
Speaking after the race, while a steady stream of admirers offered congratulations, Cranwell beamed about his horse.
"The longer distance is more his race," Cranwell said. "We disappointed a few people in his first two races, but he showed what he was meant to do today."
The Dowd Mile is always viewed as a prep race for the Bosselman/Gus Fonner Stakes to be run on April 26, but Cranwell said he hasn't decided whether Blumin Attitude would run yet.
"We might nominate him and see how the race sets up," Cranwell said. "There are usually some nice horses that ship in for the race, but we might give him a shot."
Blumin Attitude returned $13.60 to win, while keying a big exacta with Hot Chocolate that paid $207.80. Okie Dozer finished third to complete a $611.40 trifecta.
Hoofprints
* Chris Fackler rode three winners on the card, bringing home favored Hugabug in the second race, Slewkey Slew in the fifth race and long shot Brockhill in the nightcap. Brockhill won the last race in last-to-first fashion, paying a whopping $57.80 to win.
* Jockey Dylan Williams is returning to ride in his hometown today as he is named on six horses on the Sunday Fonner Park card. Williams finished fifth in the jockey standings this winter at Oaklawn Park and is scheduled to begin riding next weekend at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa.
* First post time for Sunday's 10-race card is 1:30 p.m.
Want to comment on this article?
Register on our forums and post your thoughts.
It's free and easy to do!
independentforums.com
|
