Paros has never been better, and continued his roll on Saturday night with his fifth straight win – in his stakes debut, no less. The gelding took over in the stretch and then held off a bid from Dresden Row for a head victory in track record time in the $250,000 Prairie Bayou Stakes on Turfway Park's Tapeta.
The Prairie Bayou was one of four stakes, worth a combined $1 million, on the inaugural Turfway Park Synthetic Championships card. The races, previously on separate cards during the winter, were shifted to the same date and given robust purse hikes to create a showcase program.
Paros ($14.94) gave trainer Mike Maker and jockey Luis Saez a sweep of the two-turn stakes on the program, as earlier, they teamed up to win the $250,000 My Charmer Stakes for fillies and mares with Dana's Beauty. Both Paros and Dana's Beauty came to Maker this season, and he has guided them through multiple wins.
Paros's current win streak began when he won a claiming race on the Aqueduct turf July 5 for Linda Rice. He won again on July 24 on the Saratoga turf, and was claimed for $40,000 out of that effort by Maker on behalf of Paradise Farms. The gelding stepped into allowance company to win his first start for the barn on Sept. 1 on the Saratoga turf, then won an allowance on Oct. 19 at Keeneland. In the Prairie Bayou, he stepped up to face a field including Grade 1 winners Exaulted and Stilleto Boy; graded stakes winners Dresden Row and Money Supply; and stakes winners Hush of a Storm, Wadsworth, and Wonderful Justice. Hush of a Storm and Wadsworth had both shown a past affinity for Turfway, and Wadsworth was sent off favored after a runner-up effort at Churchill Downs in his first start in more than a year, expected to be tighter for Saturday's outing.
A hard-held longshot Tremor cleared off from Wonderful Justice through an opening quarter-mile in 23.53 seconds and a half in 46.95 seconds. Paros and Saez, who had been pinched back at the start, had recovered to sit sixth after that opening half.
Meanwhile, Wadsworth was sitting pretty in third exiting the backstretch. Wonderful Justice briefly inherited the lead from a fading Tremor around the far turn, but Wadsworth quickly loomed alongside while still not being urged. However, the confidence was short-lived, with a host of pursuers launching their bids - including Hush of a Storm, revving up on the far outside, and Paros, emerging with a steady run to inch clear of Wadsworth by a half-length in midstretch.
Dresden Row, who had been eighth after the opening six furlongs, made up ground along the inland route and came up the inside of Paros in the final strides, but the winner grimly held him off with stout handling to the wire.
“I had a good trip and was able to relax off the pace,” Saez said. “Around the turn, we started passing horses, and he was very game late to hold on.”
The time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:42.22. That just shaded the prior track mark of 1:42.26, set by Cyber Secret in the 2013 Prairie Bayou.
After Dresden Row, it was two lengths back to Hush of a Storm, who edged Wadsworth by three-quarters of a length for third. They were followed, in order, by Noises, Off, Big Blue Line, Money Supply, Exaulted, Wonderful Justice, Midnight West, Stilleto Boy, and Tremor.
Earlier, Dana's Beauty secured the fourth stakes victory of her 6-year-old campaign, kicking clear for a 4 1/2-length win in the My Charmer.
Favored Dana's Beauty ($4.70) was confidently handled by Saez, as he put his mount on the engine out of the gate and controlled the tempo throughout, leading through moderate early fractions of 25.01 seconds for the quarter and 49.09 for the half. Saez let the mare run on a little into the far turn, and she came into the stretch traveling well within herself to lead by 1 1/2 lengths.
Everland, winner of the Bourbonette Oaks in March at Turfway, made a bid up the inside in the stretch, but never seriously challenged the winner, who drew off again under hand urging in the last sixteenth to her final margin. She finished the 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.34.
“She’s a very nice filly and it was a pretty straightforward race,” Saez said. “I let her break and she took me to the front. She really came home well.”
Everland held second by a head over a closing Ghostly Gal.
Dana's Beauty showed her affinity for Turfway earlier this year with a win in the Latonia Stakes, while trained by Joe Sharp. She subsequently brought a co-sale-topping $450,000 at the Keeneland April horses of racing age sale as she was purchased by Resolute Racing. Sent to Maker, Dana's Beauty has competed mainly in turf stakes this year against some salty company, winning the Ouija Board Distaff at Lone Star and Ricks Memorial Stakes at Remington, and also finishing second in the Kentucky Downs Preview Ladies Turf Mile at Ellis. The My Charmer was the mare's 11th win from 43 lifetime starts, and she pushed her career earnings past $800,000.
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