Bettors’ expectations were fulfilled on Saturday when Stonecrest Farm’s
PERFECT DRIFT (Dynaformer) annexed the $300,000
Washington Park H. (G2) at
Arlington Park. Allowed to sit in fourth on the rail by jockey Mark Guidry, the
six-year-old gelding followed Mambo Train (Kingmambo) as he completed splits of
:24 2/5, :48 and 1:11 4/5. Guidry set Perfect Drift down for his rally and the
bay responded, splitting rivals in an upper stretch and pulling away for a 4 1/4-length victory.
He completed the 1 3/16-mile affair in 1:54 1/5
over a fast track, setting a new stakes record in the process.
Perfect Drift returned $3, $2.20 and $2.10 as the 1-2 favorite. Mambo Train
gave back $7.40 and $5.80 for the place at 13-1 while Home of Stars (Home at Last) finished a half-length farther back in third to pay $4.40
at 21-1. The exotics were worth $25.80 (exacta), $171.60 (trifecta) and $558.80 (1-2-4-3 superfecta).
Billy Allen (Ire) (Night Shift) rounded out the superfecta with Freefourinternet
(Tabasco Cat), Fantasticat (Storm Cat) and Cryptograph (Cryptoclearance)
completing out the order of finish.
This score was Perfect Drift’s seventh graded stakes win and his second
taking of this event, having captured the Washington Park in 2003. The Murray
Johnson trainee moved his record to 31-11-8-4 with $3,473,040 in earnings. He
was bred in Kentucky by his owners and is out of the stakes-winning Naskra mare
Nice Gal, making him a full brother to an unnamed yearling colt and a 2005 colt.