Brass Hat wins 4th stakes

Brass Hat got a perfect trip under Willie Martinez before drawing off to his fourth stakes victory Saturday in the $50,000 Prairie Bayou Stakes at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky.

Dismissed as the 9-2 fourth choice in a field of 10 3-year-olds and upward, Brass Hat returned $11.40 after completing 1 1/8 miles in 1:52.50 over a fast Polytrack surface.

Always in striking distance after a sharp break, Brass Hat gradually wore down front-running Discreet Hero, then edged away from an otherwise game On the Border to prevail by 2 1/2 lengths. Discreet Hero finished in a dead heat for third with his Bernie Flint-trained entrymate, Paging, while It's No Joke, the 2-1 favorite, was never a serious factor and finished ninth.

The Prairie Bayou was the 11th career start for Brass Hat, a 4-year-old homebred gelding owned by Fred Bradley. William "Buff" Bradley, the owner's son, is the trainer of Brass Hat, whose four career wins have all come in stakes.

Brass Hat was making just his second start after being away from the races for more than a year because of a condylar fracture, which he suffered in late October 2004 in the Lone Star Derby. He had won the Ohio Derby and Indiana Derby before being injured.