Coach Jimi Lee captures Prairie Express

ALTOONA, Iowa- Coach Jimi Lee ($5.40), returning from a 5 1/2-month layoff, dueled through fast fractions and scored a game half length victory over 4/5 favorite Semaphore Man in Saturday's $50,000 Prairie Express at Prairie Meadows.

Under jockey Eduardo Perez, Coach Jimi Lee dueled through a half mile in 43.87 seconds before clocking the 6-furlongs in 1:09.01. The win was Coach Jim Lee's 13th from 35 career starts. Coach Jimi Lee, a 6-year-old gelded son of Roar, has now earned $697,068.

"This is a game little horse. He's tough to get by," said Coach Jimi Lee's trainer and co owner Jimmy DiVito. DiVito said he plans to run Coach Jimi Lee once in either Kentucky or Chicago before returning here July 1 for the $125,000 Iowa Sprint Handicap, a race he has won the past two years.