Maggi Moss’ Grand Contender bided his time in the second flight tracking the
pacesetter during Saturday night’s Grade 3, $200,000
Texas
Mile at Lone Star Park before taking a short lead and pulling off a
half-length victory under jockey Richard Eramia. The bay six-year-old finished
up in 1:36 3/5 over the fast dirt and paid $9 as the 7-2 third choice.
Skip the Pinot set the opening half-mile splits of :23 2/5 and :46 1/5 but
began fading nearing the far turn. Grand Contender was waiting for his chance to
the inside of Taptowne, and both runners took off for the lead at the same time.
The eventual winner had a slim head margin over his rival while dueling through
fractions of 1:10 2/5 and 1:23, and finally inched away late to earn his first
graded score.
Taptowne was game in defeat, yielding grudgingly as the near 5-2 second pick.
Bourbon Courage, the 8-5 favorite, suffered a wide trip throughout after getting
away tardily and finished third another three parts of a length back. Stachys
filled out the fourth spot while Smack Ridge and Proud Strike dead-heated for
fifth. Forest Mouse, Texas Air and Skip the Pinot completed the order under the
wire.
Grand Contender just earned his first stakes victory last year, and set a new
Delta Downs track record of 1:36.89, when taking the Delta Mile in late
November. Prior to that the Tom Amoss-trained gelding also set a new track
record at Indiana Downs when going a mile in 1:35.45.
Grand Contender closed out 2013 with a fourth placing in the Tenacious
Handicap at Fair Grounds and opened his six-year-old campaign with a pair of
runner-up efforts in the Louisiana and Mineshaft Handicaps. The son of Strong
Contender entered the Texas Mile off a 6 3/4-length romp in the Borgata back at
Delta Downs and improved his resume to read 21-7-3-4, $418,860.
Bred in Kentucky by Epona Thoroughbreds, Grand Contender was an RNA twice at
auction, bringing only $19,000 as a Keeneland November weanling and $7,000 as a
Keeneland September yearling. He is out of the Twilight Agenda mare My Twilight
Dancer, making him a half-brother to fellow successful gelding Twilight Eclipse.
That one has thus far captured three Grade 2 events, including the Mac Diarmida
this past February, and banked more than $700,000 in career earnings.
The duo’s second dam is Grade 2-placed Shimmy and this is the female family
of Grade 2 hero and multiple Grade 1-placed Slavic.
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