Las Vegas, NV – Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa will host the Grade 3 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap this Saturday, June 29. A purse of $300,000 will be on the line for horses three years old and upward willing to go 1 1/8 miles on Prairie Meadows main track.
A field of six older horses will line up in the Cornhusker Handicap – race 8 on Prairie Meadows Saturday schedule. Post time is 9:50 PM. Let’s take a look into the past performances of all six combatants for this Grade 3 stakes.
Prayer For Relief – Steve Asmussen trained entry has just two starts in 2013 and two seconds – in the Grade 3 Lone Star Park Handicap last time out May 27 and in the Grade 3 Texas Mile Stakes at Lone Star April 27 after a nearly eight month layoff. Before the layoff he had a sixth in the Grade 3 Washington Park Handicap in September, a second in the minor Governor’s Cup Stakes in August and a sixth in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap in July. He won this race in 2011 and will be looking to ascend to a win after a pair of good seconds in his two previous starts.
Silver Max – won six straight between March and July of 2012 including the Grade 3 Transylvania Stakes, the Grade 2 American Turf Stakes in wire-to-wire fashion and the Grade 2 Virginia Derby. He hasn’t been the same since the Virginia Derby however – he was a disappointing fifth in the Grade 1 Secretariat Stakes in August at Arlington Park, ninth in the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf mile in October and was fifth in the Grade 3 Appleton Stakes at Gulfstream March 30 after five months away. Last time out was his first win in five starts – the minor Opening Verse Stakes in gate-to-wire fashion by 9 1/2 lengths at Churchill Downs June 1 after a fourth in the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic May 4. He has shown superb form in the past and is the morning line second choice in the Cornhusker.
Taptowne – finished fifth in this race last year and has one win since – an Allowance Optional Claiming at Oaklawn Park in March. He has placed in four straight however – that win, a good second in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap in April a third and a second respectively in a pair of Allowance Optional Claiming races at Churchill Downs. He figures to bring the speed Saturday and could threaten the favorites.
Nicklaus Way – makes his graded stakes debut Saturday for trainer Ian Wilkes after 17 career starts yielded four wins, two seconds and a third place finish. He started his year with two straight Allowance Optional Claiming scores at Tampa Bay and went on to a second in the minor Challenger Stakes in March. Last time out was a second in an Allowance Optional Claiming at Churchill Downs May 24 after a fourth in a similar race May 2.
Cornhusker Handicap betting at Prairie Meadows with OffTrackBetting.com
Red Lead – finished seventh in the 2011 edition of this race and finished sixth in this race in 2010. He is a veteran of 46 career starts and has won three of his last five including the minor Curribot Stakes at Sunland Park February 10. Last time out was a fifth at the Brooks Field Stakes after an Allowance score at Canterbury Park in May.
Tiz Ready – makes his stakes debut Saturday after 18 career starts produced four wins, two seconds and three third place finishes. Last time out was an Allowance Optional Claiming score on this track. He is the longest shot in the field at 20-1 and starts from post 4.
Race 8 on Prairie Meadows’s Saturday card with a Post Time of 9:50 PM.
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