Gary & Mary West’s Casino Host
and trainer Chad Brown teamed
up to win the Grade II, Mervin H. Muniz Jr. Memorial Handicap at odds
of 11-1 as the three wagering favorites failed to fire in the $400,000
turf event.
After
Mr. Vegas set the pace with
moderate fractions, things really tightened-up around mid-stretch when
Papaw Bodie took over the lead, until Casino Host found his best stride
and ran down Papaw Bodie to score by a half-length
in the 1 1/8-mile affair.
“I talked to
Chad
this morning and he wanted me to give the horse a good run up and put
him into the pace and don’t let him too far back and at least have
somebody in front of him,” said
winning jockey John Velazquez. “If he’s too far back at the eighth pole
he is not going to catch him. If he’s close enough, within two lengths,
he is going to finish. He was right. He was right there on the money
and when I asked him he responded and put a
good fight down the lane.”
The
winning son of Dynaformer is a bit of a globetrotter, having started at
seven different racetracks dating back to November 2010. After a
few solid efforts in graded stakes company last year, the 4-year-old
broke through on Saturday, paying $23.80, $13.20 and $6.60.
Connie Apostelos’
Papaw Bodie held second and paid $10.80 and $4.80. Henry E. Pabst Trust’s
Joinem, another longshot, finished third paying $9.60. The final time was 1:50.87 over the course labeled “good.”
The post-time favorite,
Slow Pace, finished fifth after threatening around the far turn. Last year’s winner Smart Bid never fired and finished seventh.
--Travis Stone