The MD Sprint Handicap (Grade 3)- $150.000 Purse
PIM- For Three Year Olds and Upward
Six Furlongs on the Dirt
May 16, 2015

Kiwiw Ripoff might be a tongue twister to pronounce, but he has been making his name heard loud and clear across the older sprinter ranks as of late.   He came into the race as the betting favorite, as well as our favorite, and this classy colt by the late Iron Deputy did not leave anyone disappointed that had backed him.  It is his fourth win in five starts, including two graded stakes, and the sky would seem to be the limit for him right now.  It shall be interesting to see where he goes after this.  Will trainer Threshold take a crack at a higher purse, or will he be content to keep him where he seems to be dominating?  That is a question for the future, and for now we can enjoy this horse who is only ripping off people who don’t bet on him.  Aboard the winner was V R Carrasco, his first career MD Sprint Handicap, as it was also for Threshold.  The winning time of 1:08.89 ranks it about in the middle from where past editions have been finished.   Congrats to all of the connections!

1st- 8- Kiwiw Ripoff (9/5)- This classy horse for Threshold wasted no time jumping out into the lead, and was able to move over to about the second lane midway through the backstretch to position himself well for the turn.   He would set the opening quarter time in a quick though reasonable :22.52.  Maintained this graceful stride over the turn, taking the half in :45.08, and steered clear of all of his competition by a length and a half with just one furlong to go.  The others began to get a little closer at the end, but Kiwiw Ripoff was able to bear down and get to the wire first!  Congrats again to all of the connections!

2nd- 3- Funny Intern (14/1)- The Wynnewood entry started well out of the gate, but jockey J R Betancourt opted to rein him in a little bit, and he would drop to a more midpack position early.  Took advantage of an outside move by Blame Ratman to get a nice running lane for the stretch.  Was able to move into second thanks to this run, and made a bid at Kiwiw Ripoff, but there was too much distance to make up.

3rd- 5- Holden The Young (19/1)- A little surprised to see him go off as the longest shot on the board, but apparently people wanted to be sure that the Night Rider Stables entry could go more then 4 ½ furlongs.  As expected, he was up on the lead early.  Gamely hung in there while come may have been thinking he would lose interested and wouldn’t miss second by all that much. I’d love to see him get another crack at this kind of race.

4th- 6- Blame Ratman (5/1)- Fourth of a group of four that pulled away from the rest by a couple lengths over the backstretch for trainer Aer Stables.   Politely moved over a lane at the top of the stretch for Funny Intern to be able to get by.  Once settled on trying to get by Kiwiw Ripoff to the outside, Blame Ratman ran well, but would not be able to get a top three.

5th- 2- Tiberius Claudius (7/2)- Decent out of the gate, but the Sanny Village entry conceded some ground to his chief rival early, letting him get away.  Many were wondering just when Tiberius Claudius would make a move, but he did not have an A1 stretch response and today would not be his day.  It would be the trainer’s day, but that would come later in the card.

6th- 4- K Booom (9/1)- Last of them all at the start for Rouge River Stables.  At the top of the stretch, it looked as though R Bejarano had plenty of horse underneath him, but it was simply difficult to find a lane.  Once something did open up, kaboom! K Booom advanced, but it was too late.

7th- 1- Blade of Maahes (19/1)- Content to run near the back for D J C Racing Stables.  Rode alone the rail for most of the race, and never seemed to make any kind of a move towards the front.  Tough day for a horse that needed a good race.

8th- 9- Lonely Town (11/1)- The Emerald Racing Inc entry did not get involved early, running next to last over the backstretch run.   In order to attempt to make a move, jockey K J Desormeaux had no choice but to swing about six or seven wide, and in a close finish, that hurt.

9th- 7- Just Wiggle It (8/1)- The Aml Racing entry actually got off to a good start, running with the leaders in the early going.  Drifted considerably exiting the turn and did not look good in the stretch.

Track: Fast
Time: :22²  :45   :56³  1:08⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 8 – 3 Paid 22.60
$1 Trifecta: 8 – 3 – 5 Paid 1,130.50

Scratched: None

Winner picked by NS

— NS

Categories: Grade III