Nice Guy Stable's King Cause closed on the front-runners with a four-wide rally on the turn, opened a clear lead in early stretch, and continued on to win the $300,000 Texas Turf Classic by 1 1/4 lengths Saturday at Lone Star Park.
Sent off the favorite at 2-1 odds under Rene Diaz, who earned his first career stakes win, the 8-year-old Creative Cause gelding was posting his ninth win from 38 career starts and ended a four-race winless stretch dating from his victory in the Knickerbocker (G3) Oct. 9 at the Belmont at the Big A meet. His record also includes a victory in last year's Kentucky Cup Classic, his first career starts win, at Turfway Park.
King Cause paid $6 for the Saturday's win after completing the 1 1/8-mile turf contest in 1:47.73 on a course rated as firm. He came into the race off a sixth-place finish in the Fort Marcy Stakes (G3) at Belmont on May 6 but easily held back the closing bid of runner-up Kokokomo in the Texas Turf Classic. Dean Martini checked in third, five lengths behind Kokokomo, in the seven-horse field.
Trained by Mike Maker, who won last year's edition of the Texas Turf Classic with Field Pass, King Cause was bred in Kentucky by Bret Jones. His dam is the Street Cry mare Street Mate. He banked $174,600 for Saturday's win, elevating his lifetime bankroll to $823,828.
The Texas Turf Classic was one of four turf stakes with purses totaling $750,000 on the Summer Turf Festival card at the Grand Prairie, Texas racetrack.
It took a photo finish to decide the winner in the $150,000 Grand Prairie Turf Sprint. The 4-year-old colt Cogburn hit the wire first, giving him his second stakes win at Lone Star Park in as many tries. The Steve Asmussen trainee was able to overcome a poor start and mount a furious rally to get up in time with Ricardo Santana Jr. in the irons. Cogburn, a 4-year-old Not This Time colt, covered the five furlongs in :55.64 as the post-time favorite. The $2 win wager returned $3.80. Clark O. Brewster, and William and Corinne Heiligbrodt own the stakes winner. Big Chopper and Atras finished second and third to complete the trifecta.
The $150,000 Wasted Tears, for fillies and mares, was contested at 1 1/16 miles. George Sharp's, Glenall, was able to sit back and stalk the pace before showing a burst of speed to win by 2 1/4 lengths and return $11.40 for the win. David Cabrera was aboard for trainer Shawn H. Davis. This was the third win from 19 tries for the Irish-bred 4-year-old Coulsty filly and the first at Lone Star Park.
This year's running of the $150,000 Chicken Fried Stakes attracted a solid field of fillies and mares to compete in the five furlong sprint. Unbridled Mary shipped from the West Coast and made her first start in the Lone Star State a winning one. Jockey Hector Isaac Berrios was able to split rivals and close with a rush, crossing the finish line in :56.18, 1 1/4 lengths ahead of the wagering favorite Tiz Magic. John Sadler trains the 4-year-old Maclean's Music filly owned by Pearl Racing, Pine Racing Stables and West Point Thoroughbreds. She paid $5.60 for the win.
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