Contreras has big day as Raagheb wins Winsham Lad
Raagheb gave jockey Luis Contreras his fourth winner on the Sunland Park card Sunday when he drove to a two-length victory over Deputy’s Echo in the $65,000 Winsham Lad Handicap.
It was another three-quarters of a length back to American Dubai in third.
The Winsham Lad, which was for 4-year-olds and up at a mile, served as the first of two local preps for the $150,000 Sunland Park Handicap on May 4. The second race in the track’s series for older horses is the $75,000 Curribot Handicap on Feb. 24.
Raagheb ($13.60) lagged off the pace as Izzy the Warrior set pressured fractions of 23.43 seconds for the opening quarter and 45.58 for the half-mile. Raagheb advanced, moved to the lead in the stretch, and covered the distance on a fast track in 1:35.21.
Contreras was aboard for trainer Justin Evans.
Raagheb is a son of Street Cry who races for Paul B. Miller and Bill Tomasic. The win was the first in a stakes for Raagheb, who now has a career record of five wins from 32 starts for earnings of $290,466.
