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EAST BOSTON — A crowd of 5,975 was on hand at Suffolk Downs for Day 2 of the second two-day racing and food truck festival featuring a pair of $75,000 stakes races restricted to horses bred in Massachusetts.
In the $75,000 First Episode Stakes, the sixth race on the 10-race card, the defending First Episode Stakes winner Navy Nurse contested the lead with Malibu Ice before putting away that rival and opening up a two-length advantage in the stretch. Jeb, after rating under Luis Perez, made a bold late move to chase her down and prevail by ¾ of a length. It was the first stakes win for trainer Dylan Clarke.
“I saddled my first winner here in 2014 and it is the best feeling in the world to win my first stakes race here,” said Clarke. “I couldn’t have done it without my family behind me. She’s a very talented, very classy filly.”
Jeb, a four-year-old daughter of Zong, completed the mile and 70 yards in 1:44.85 and returned $36.00, 11.60 and 3.60. Navy Nurse paid $4.20 and 2.80 while Miss Wilby, the even-money favorite, returned $2.10. Clarke and Perez also teamed up to win the fourth race with Grady ($4.20).
The ninth race of the card was the $75,000 Last Dance Stakes, which featured three-year-old Dr. Blarney taking on older horses for the first time after winning the $75,000 African Prince Stakes in July. Bred and owned by Joseph DiRico, the chestnut son of Dublin broke alertly and quickly assumed the lead. From there, he opened up to win by 19 lengths and stopped the clock in 1:43.54 for the mile and seventy yard distance under jockey Tammi Piermarini.
“He’s just super special,” said Piermarini. “He is so fast and so freaky-good. The entire team has done a great job with him.”
Saturday, jockey David Amiss rode four winners on the 10-race card.
Amiss, the leading rider at Suffolk Downs in 2014, started out the day with a victory aboard Mr. Watanabe Too ($5.00) for trainer Jay Bernardini. He swept the early double with longshot Nea ($68.40) for trainer Kathy Barraclough. In the third race, he scored a hat trick with Everyday Dave ($21.20) again teaming up with former leading trainer Bernardini. Amiss capped off his four-win day in the $75,000 Louise Kimball Stakes in a photo finish aboard Angry Patty ($6.20) for trainer Derek Ryan.
Also on the card, jockey Daniel Centeno teamed up with trainer Arnaud Delacour to win the featured race, the $75,000 Drumtop Stakes. A three-year-old chestnut daughter of City Zip, she contested the lead and opened up a one-length advantage at the top of the stretch. She resolutely dug in to prevail by a nose over Shake Down Baby. Involuntary returned $5.60, 3.00, 2.40.
The final live racing and food truck festival weekend is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, September 3-4. In addition to live racing, the track will be hosting a food truck festival featuring food trucks from over a dozen vendors, craft beer, live music and family fun activities for the whole family.