Archidust wins Richie Scherer Memorial going away

An hour and a half after winning his 100th Fair Grounds stakes race when Joy’s Rocket captured the Letellier Memorial, trainer Steve Asmussen won his 101st with Archidust in the $75,000 Richie Scherer Memorial.

Archidust ($10.40) got a sweet trip under Ricardo Santana Jr., nestling into the pocket, racing third as Hollis and Just Might went head-and-head through swift fractions: 21.70 for the first quarter-mile and 44.62 through the opening half-mile of this turf sprint. The leaders remained fully engaged at the furlong pole, where Santana steered Archidust outside, his mount bearing down on the pacesetting pair and passing them inside the final sixteenth mile.

Archidust, going away at the wire, posted a one-length win and went 1:02.71 for 5 1/2 furlongs on firm turf. Just Might was a neck better than Hollis as favored Fast Boat never got involved and finished fifth.

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Archidust, coming out of a sixth-place finish in the Turf Sprint Championship on Nov. 28 at Aqueduct, won his third ungraded turf-sprint stakes of 2020.

The 4-year-old, bred in Kentucky by Wolverton Mountain Farm, is by Verrazano out of Chilling Effect, by Gold Fever, and is owned by Crawford Farms Racing.

Logical Myth upsets Buddy D.

Logical Myth won a head bob over Cross Border to land the $75,000 Buddy Dilberto Memorial Stakes, a first stakes win for a former claimer.

Trainer Joe Sharp and owner JPS Racing claimed Logical Myth for $40,000 this past May, gelded the 4-year-old, and had gotten strong results even before Saturday’s win. Logical Myth won a rich first-level allowance race at Kentucky Downs late this summer and was placed first via disqualification in an off-turf second-level allowance race opening day of the Fair Grounds meeting.

In the Diliberto, he broke from post 1 under Adam Beschizza and raced in the second flight of horses, inside Cross Border, as Spectacular Gem and Sailing Solo hooked up on a strong pace, going the first half-mile in 47.13 seconds. The leaders battled on into the homestretch as a host of horses closed in, seven runners still with a chance approaching the furlong grounds. Beschizza had steered Logical Myth outside passing the three-sixteenths pole, coming alongside Cross Border, and those two bore down on Sailing Solo and a tiring Spectacular Gem, Logical Myth gaining an advantage a few strides before the wire and just holding off a final surge from Cross Border.

Argentello, a 42-1 shot, finished fastest and finished a neck behind Cross Border to get third. Sailing Solo gamely held fourth while Spectacular Gem, the 9-5 favorite, faded back to fifth.

Logical Myth ran 1 1/16 miles over a firm course in 1:41.58 and paid $21.40 to win. He’s the product of a mating between Data Link and Undo, by Flatter, and was bred in Kentucky by Glendalough.