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Dixie Meister rallies for San Pasqual win
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Dixie Meister (dark bay) gutted out a game win in the San Pasqual
(Benoit Photo) |
Gary A. Tanaka's DIXIE MEISTER (Holzmeister) raced in back of Saturday's
$150,000
San
Pasqual H. (G2), circled the field on the turn and just managed to hold off Armenian Summer (Siberian Summer) while racing in the middle of the
track to take the 1 1/16-mile test. With David Flores urging him on, the Julio Canani-trained
dark bay clocked 1:43 on the fast dirt to return
$8, $4.40 and $3 while keying the $50.10 exacta ($1) and $216.70 trifecta ($1)
(2-6-1) at 3-1.
Martin Pedroza hustled Cheroot (Smokester) to the front when the gates
opened, settling his mount on the rail with Declan's Moon (Malibu Moon) and
Spellbinder (Tale of the Cat) to the outside and Preachinatthebar (Silver Charm)
just in behind. Those three maintained their positions through fractions of :23
and :46, while all the while Dixie Meister was racing well behind in sixth. As the
top three approached the final turn, Dixie Meister began to move up while
Cheroot started backing up. Declan's Moon got his head in front through six
furlongs in 1:10, but he couldn't hold the advantage coming into the stretch.
The nearly white Preachinatthebar took the lead in the stretch and seemed to
have the best chance for the win, but it wasn't to be. Charging down the
center of the track, Dixie Meister and Armenian Summer, who had been running in
last, turned the event into a
match race, with the former just edging his rival by a nose at the line.
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"I knew (Garrett) Gomez (aboard Armenian Summer) was coming and I wanted him to get
close to me because I knew that would make my horse dig in, and he did," Flores
explained. "When he saw that other horse, he picked it up again. He ran great."
Armenian Summer paid $10.80 and $3.80 for his game effort at 14-1, while
Preachinatthebar gave back $2.60 at 5-2 while 2 3/4 lengths back in third. Finishing
out the order under the wire were Buckland Manor (Bien Bien), Spellbinder,
Cheroot and Declan's Moon.
Dixie Meister was transferred to Canani's barn last winter and ran
second for his new conditioner in the Santana Mile H. first out. In his next
one, the five-year-old gelding finished third in the Mervyn Leroy H. (G2) before
scoring his first graded win in the Californian S. (G2) in mid-June. Prior to
this race, Dixie Meister was fourth in the Cigar Mile H. (G1) and now boasts a
22-5-3-4 career mark with $601,210 in lifetime earnings.
Bred in the Lone Star State by Ken & Linda Quirk, Dixie Meister is out of the
winning Dixity Do Dah (Dixieland Band), who has also produced an unraced
juvenile named Dixie Fiddler (Gold Tribute). The San Pasqual winner was
purchased for $4,600 as a Fasig-Tipton Texas Summer yearling.
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