Presque Isle Downs wraps up meet with a trio of stakes

Clyde D. Rice's Less Than Perfect got the best of 3-2 favorite Bourbon Cowboy

by 2 1/4 lengths in Thursday's $100,200

Fitz Dixon Jr. Memorial Juvenile Stakes under jockey Willie Martinez. The 6

1/2-furlong contest kicked off three straight stakes contests on closing day at

Presque Isle

Downs.

Trained by Kevin Rice and sent off the 9-1 fifth pick in the nine-juvenile

field, Less Than Perfect pressed the pacesetting Breakin the Fever through an

opening half-mile in :22 1/5 and :45. Bourbon Cowboy was stalking those two and

followed Less Than Perfect when the Pleasantly Perfect colt took command at the

head of the stretch.

What was shaping up to be a nice stretch duel fizzled out as Less Than

Perfect effortlessly drew off to stop the clock in 1:16 1/5 over the Tapeta. The

chestnut paid $20 for the win, his first since breaking his maiden in May over

the track.

Bourbon Cowboy was easily best of the rest, four lengths up on 71-1 longshot

Draw Night while Breakin the Fever finished another 4 3/4 lengths back in

fourth. Machination, Duff, Copper's Crescent and Court's Ruling completed the

order under the wire. Seraph refused to run at the break and walked off the

track. Adventurous Fox, Louisiana Brown, Pom Pom Pistol and Twisted Ginger all

scratched.

Prior to Thursday, Less Than Perfect had competed in four stakes since

breaking his maiden. He finished fifth in the Victoria and sixth in the Sanford,

ran third in a turf allowance at

Woodbine, then filled out the superfecta in both the Swynford and Summer at

that Canadian venue. With the Fitz Dixon now on his resume, the Florida-bred

colt boasts a 7-2-0-1 mark and more than doubled his career earnings to

$107,655.

Dianne Manning's Miss Mischief lived up to her 8-5 favoritism with a 1

3/4-length score one race later in the $100,600

H.B.P.A.

Stakes.

Miss Mischief saved ground until the quarter-pole, then was angled out three

wide at the top of the stretch by jockey Antonio Gallardo. The Into Mischief

filly rallied down the lane to catch Awesome Flower and finish a mile and 70

yards on the Tapeta in 1:39.55, just missing the 1:39.04 track record set in

2009.

Miss Mischief rewarded her backers with $5.40 for earning just her second

stakes victory. Awesome Flower had 5 1/2 lengths to spare on third-placer Star

Pearl, and that pair was followed by Allanah, Uptown Gal, Cat's Holiday, Vision

of Romance, Fighting Xena, Sheer Drama, Derby Eve and Remember Then. Femme

Fatale, Keystone Kelly and Ocean Bertie were withdrawn.

The Kentucky-bred Miss Mischief began her career with Tony Dutrow, was

transferred to Steven Asmussen after four starts and is now three-for-three

since taking up residence in trainer Dale Capuano's shedrow. The four-year-old

bay improved her scorecard to 13-6-0-0, $258,800 with Thursday's win.

Wrapping up the stakes action on Presque Isle Downs' closing down was the

$75,500

Mrs. Henry D. Paxson Memorial Stakes for juvenile fillies. Raul Bahena's

Happy to Go emulated Less Than Perfect from earlier on the card when prompting

the pace through the opening half-mile of :22 1/5 and :46 3/5, gaining control

and pulling off a two-length win.

The 7-5 favorite was ridden by Pablo Morales for trainer Armando De La Cerda,

and ran six furlongs on the Tapeta in 1:10 2/5. Happy to Go was worth $4.80 for

the score, her first since taking her maiden debut at

Arlington in late

May.

Chilly Start got the best of early leader Brennan by 1 1/2 lengths, while it

was a head back to Old Toy in fourth and a neck to Rockin Jojo in fifth.

Successful Brat came in last and Greygoose Miss was scratched.

Happy to Go is now 2-0-2 from five starts having banked $92,550. The bay

daughter of Saint Anddan followed her debut victory with a third in the My Dear

and fifth in the Ontario Debutante at Woodbine, and entered the Paxson Memorial

off a third-placing in the Arlington-Washington Lassie.

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