Colonial: Pass Play wins fourth in row

Pass Play made it four straight victories with a three-quarter-length score in the $60,000 Da Hoss at Colonial Downs.

Pass Play was taking a substantial step up in class for the Da Hoss, and bettors sent him off at 11-1, figuring he was unlikely to be able to handle such proven stakes horses as Bastille, Midwatch, Mixed Up, or Alumni Hall. But Pass Play, under Luis Garcia, showed he had the class to go with his sharp form, catching pacesetter Midwatch with a sixteenth to go in the one-mile turf race. He paid $25.40.

Midwatch and jockey Christopher VanHassel nearly stole the Da Hoss. They set fractions of 23.31, 47.05, and 1:11.31, and led by 1 1/2 lengths in midstretch. Midwatch was no match for Pass Play, but held off 14-1 shot Ra Der Dean for second, with the 2-1 favorite, Bastille, in fourth.

The Grade 1-winning jumper Mixed Up ran sixth in a rare appearance on the flat, and the graded stakes winner Alumni Hall showed he isn't a turf horse by finishing ninth and last.

Owned by David Ross and trained by Michael Pino, Pass Play ran the mile in 1:35.05. Pass Play, a 6-year-old Fast Play gelding, came into the race off victories in a starter allowance at Atlantic City, a $25,000 claimer at Delaware, and an optional claimer at Colonial. The victory was his 13th in 39 starts and pushed his earnings to nearly $250,000.