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Bustin Stones remains unbeaten in General George Roddy J. Valente's homebred BUSTIN STONES (City Zip) passed his first graded test in Monday's $246,750 General George H. (G2) at Laurel Park, posting a wire-to-wire score to remain perfect in five career starts. Yet to be headed at any call in his races, the Bruce Levine charge reeled off seven furlongs in 1:24 2/5 on a track listed as good. Bustin Stones, who had competed against fellow New York-breds in his prior outings, established splits of :23 and :46 1/5 while pressed by Stormin Normandy (Stormin Fever). Bustin Stones dispatched that rival at the top of the stretch, but a more menacing threat in the form of Lord Snowdon (Seeking the Gold) appeared to his outside. Although the closer made things interesting late, Bustin Stones stayed on resolutely beneath Ramon Dominguez and had a head to spare at the wire. Sent off as the 2-1 favorite, the winner gave back $6.20, $3.80 and $3.20 while spearheading the $37.20 exacta and $210.60 trifecta (2-1-3). "He is a dream horse to ride because he is like a Quarter Horse coming out of the gate," Dominguez said. "By the second jump, he is listening to you. He would go :21 with no problem, but as soon as you put your hands down, he relaxes. I could hear the commotion behind us and I really did not know how close they were, or who it was, but he knew someone was there and kept on digging." Lord Snowdon trailed through the opening half-mile and made a smart move to reach contention. In midstretch, he exchanged bumps with Premium Wine (Prime Timber), who was trying to launch his bid between horses. As Premium Wine got shuffled back, Lord Snowdon came off the better in their scrimmaging, and proved to be the only one to give the winner a scare. The runner-up yielded $5.40 and $4.60 at 8-1. Premium Wine angled to the outside and regrouped for third, 1 1/2 lengths astern of Lord Snowdon, and paid $6.20 at 15-1. Ryan's for Real (Sword Dance [Ire]) checked in another half-length back in fourth, followed by Throng (Silver Deputy), Stormin Normandy and Divine Park (Chester House), who broke through the gate prior to the start. Marvel Wood (Ormsby) was withdrawn. Bustin Stones boosted his bankroll to $300,150. The lightly raced four-year-old boasts three previous stakes scores. Last spring, he captured the Times Square division of the New York Stallion S. and the Screenland S., both by open lengths, before being sidelined. He returned from an eight-month layoff in the January 21 Thepromonroe S. at Aqueduct and drove to a 1 1/2-length victory. The chestnut is out of the winning Prospectors Gamble mare Shesasurething.
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