Maiden King

It seems to me that the stable waited until the last minute to wager on #7 Dish the Dirt. This 4-year-old, who is trained by Peter Eurton and owned by his main man Frank Alesia, opened at just over 10-to-1 and stood at 9-to-1 as the field loaded into the gate. But after Dish the Dirt ran down 4-to-5 shot #9 Lavender Touch in the stretch, she paid a mere $16, or 7-to-1.

I’ll take it though, as I wagered $200 on this filly, who was running in her second race off a long layoff.

Jockey Joel Rosario, broke well with Dish the Dirt, but he grabbed hold of her and she was six lengths behind on the backstretch. She began noticeably accelerating midway on the turn, then unleashed a strong stretch drive in the middle of the track to nail the pace setter for the money.

Jeff Mullins trained #9 Lavender Touch, who sat off the flank of longshot #1 Junior’s Aces before taking the lead at the top of the stretch. She clearly led until a few jumps from the wire, but couldn’t last.

To watch a replay of this race, go to www.calracing.com.