Photo: CDI
Chester Miller and Patrick Dupuy’s
Strike Impact struck gold with a solid one-length score in Saturday’s $75,000 “Buddy” Diliberto Memorial Handicap at the Crescent City oval.
Trained by Pat Dupuy, the 8-year-old Smart Strike gelding benefitted from a stalking trip flawlessly engineered by jockey Shaun Bridgmohan,who gained the lead in upper stretch and then withstood the late-running Hotep, owned by Sam-Son Farms.
“I just wanted to give him a better trip than I did
last time,” said Bridgmohan in the winner’s circle. “In his last race I
think I just got in his way.”
Strike Impact, claimed by his trainer and co-owner in 2009, returned
surprisingly high mutuels of $19.40, $9.60 and $4.20, accomplished the
about 1 1/16-mile distance in 1:46.38 over the firm Stall-Wilson Turf
Course and increased his career earnings to $657,393 with his 18th win
from 69 lifetime starts.
Hotep paid $5 and $3.40 in the second spot while David Holloway Racing’s Dubious Miss was a neck farther back in third and returned $2.80.