Leading sprinter Delaunay met defeat for the first time this season at
Prairie Meadows Friday night when falling to fellow Churchill Downs shipper
Gentlemen’s Bet by 1 3/4 lengths in the $122,500
Iowa Sprint
Handicap.
Bumping with pacesetter Credit Report at the start, Delaunay was no more than
two lengths behind that rival down the backside. Making his bid around the turn,
Delaunay seized a short lead at the top of the stretch but was ultimately worn
down by Gentlemen’s Bet, a four-year-old making just his sixth lifetime start.
The 9-5 second choice, Gentlemen’s Bet returned $5.80 and $2.20 after completing
six furlongs on a fast track in 1:09 2/5 under David Mello.
Delaunay, the 3-10 favorite, finished more than five lengths clear of Credit
Report, who set splits of :21 3/5 and :44 2/5. Jasizzile and City Sage completed
the order of finish.
Owned by Harry Rosenblum and trained by Ron Moquett, Gentlemen’s Bet had won
four of his five previous outings with his lone setback being a third in the
Count Fleet Sprint Handicap at Oaklawn on April 13. He entered the Iowa Sprint
off a Churchill allowance score where he stopped the timer in 1:07 4/5 for six
furlongs. He now has earnings of $216,700.
Bred by Juvenal Diaz in Florida, Gentlemen’s Bet is a son of Half Ours and
the Gentlemen mare Lady of Sun, who is from the family of Grade 1 winner
Consolidator.
Moquett also trained Livi Makenzie, the winner of the $98,000
Saylorville for fillies and mares at six furlongs. The four-year-old
daughter of Macho Uno stalked the an early pace of :22 and :44 4/5 set by Lulu
Wong, and then ran down that rival inside the sixteenth pole to win by a length
in a time of 1:10 1/5. The 3-2 favorite paid $5, $2.80 and $2.20 with Israel
Ocampo in the irons.
Devious Intent also caught Lulu Wong late, beating her for second by 2 1/2
lengths. Second Street City finished fourth, while Denali Dreamscape trailed.
The race lost a bit of luster following the early scratch of morning-line
favorite Beat the Blues.
The Saylorville was the first stakes win for Livi Makenzie, who previously
placed in the Beaumont at Keeneland and the Optimistic Gal at Churchill, both in
2012. Her record now stands at 17-5-5-3, $272,109.
Owned by B J D Thoroughbreds, Livi Makenzie was bred in Kentucky by Scott
Pierce and Bobby Langley and was a $5,500 Keeneland September yearling. She was
reared by the Joyeux Danseur mare Greta’s Joy, a half-sister to multiple Grade 2
winner Surf Cat.
Churchill shippers made a clean sweep on the first night of the Iowa Festival
of Racing when Preston Stables’ Flashy American dominated her rivals by 5 1/2
lengths in the $102,250
Iowa
Distaff. Under Terry Thompson, the four-year-old gray by Flashy Bull
completed 1 1/16 miles in 1:44 3/5 and paid $3.60, $2.40 and $2.20 as the 4-5
favorite.
Magic Hour, who pressed a :23 2/5 and :47 1/5 pace set by Cruzette, opened up
a length advantage after six furlongs in 1:12 2/5, but yielded to the winner in
the stretch and just held off Itsabeautifulthing for second by a nose.
Completing the order of finish were Queen Lilly Kay, Miss Hockaday, Lava Girl,
and Cruzette.
Trained by Kenny McPeek, Flashy American was making her stakes debut in the
Iowa Distaff following a $62,500 optional claiming win at Churchill on June 6.
She had passed her first two allowance conditions last fall, and now sports a
line of 19-5-2-2, $225,133.
Bred in Kentucky by H & W Thoroughbreds, Flashy American was a $9,000
Keeneland November weanling. She was reared by the multiple stakes-placed Quiet
American mare Inn Between.
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