Sadie’s Soldier, under patient handling by Diego Saenz, rallied out of the final turn and drew steadily clear the final furlong to successfully defend his title in the $50,000 John Henry Stakes on Saturday night at Evangeline Downs. Bauers Got Hours also turned in a late run to finish second, 5 1/4 lengths back and a neck in front of Its Mr Slew to You, who was a head better than 7-5 favorite Quality Control. Content to sit well off Redhotrush through a lively pace of 23.37 seconds for the quarter and 47.04 for the half, Saenz had Sadie’s Soldier ($10) on the move after three-quarters in 1:11.18 and they took command approaching the furlong grounds. The final time for 1 1/16 miles was 1:42.91 over a firm turf course. Trained by Brett Brinkman, Sadie’s Soldier won for the eighth time in 24 starts and for the first time in four tries this year. A 6-year-old son of Lost Soldier, Sadie’s Soldier has now won more than $305,000.