Cainam comes from behind to win John Wayne.
May 11, 2015ALTOONA, Iowa – Cainam came from far behind, circled his eight Iowa-bred rivals, and closed ground with his usual ferocity to win Saturday night's $79,000 John Wayne Stakes by a neck.
Defending champ Patty's Key looked a certain winner when bounding clear at the sixteenth pole, but jockey Terry Thompson was just getting the 8-year-old Cainam ($13.80) in full flight. Patty's Key dug in under Glenn Corbett's right-handed pressure, but the Jon Arnett-trained Cainam picked him up under a well-timed ride.
Patty's Key finished 2 3/4 lengths ahead of You Funny Man's late bid. The heavily favored Shock Hazard encountered early trouble and came up empty late while finishing fourth.
Cainam, earning $46,500 for owner-breeder James R. Leech, pushed his career earnings to $624,355. The Is It True gelding was winning his 13th race here and covered six furlongs over a fast track in 1:11.31.
Sumting Wong wins Mamie Eisenhower
Sumting Wong, sweeping up to seize command on the turn, put away M B Prize in deep stretch to garner top honors in the co-featured $80,000 Mamie Eisenhower, a six-furlong sprint for Iowa-bred fillies and mares.
Ridden by Alex Birzer for trainer Doug Anderson, the favored Sumting Wong ($4.40) held M B Prize safe for a 1 3/4-length win in the field of 10.
Registering her third stakes win, Sumting Wong, out of the champion Iowa-bred mare Nut N Better, earned $46,800 for owner-breeder Shady Bend Thoroughbreds. Sumting Wong got the six furlongs in 1:11.21.
** Earlier in the evening, jockey Ramon Vazquez won his 2000th career race when he guided Celtic Drama to an easy five-length win. Vazquez, a 29-year-old Puerto Rican native who won 51 races in the recently completed Oaklawn Park meet and rode his first Kentucky Derby aboard Mr. Z, tallied his landmark win for owner Danny Caldwell and trainer Federico Villafranco.