Cowan wins Duncan Kenner after Just Might disqualified
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
NEW ORLEANS – Cowan came away with victory in the $99,000 Duncan Kenner Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds after easy winner Just Might was disqualified to last for interference on the backstretch.
The disqualification was somewhat controversial, a dramatic-looking incident predicated on a subtle foul.
Just Might, breaking from post 5 under Colby Hernandez, made the lead a few strides out of the gate. Hernandez began easing his mount inside and toward the rail, and as he got closer to the horse inside him, Cowan, Cowan appeared to get intimidated, moving into the shoulder of the horse nearest the rail, Sir Alfred James.
As Joel Rosario pulled hard on Cowan’s reins, his mount turned his head to the left and apparently tried to bite Sir Alfred James, who dodged the parry, offering a mild counter-bite of his own before Cowan body-checked Sir Alfred James into the rail. Both Rosario and John McKee on Sir Alfred James nearly were unseated, and Sir Alfred James was checked violently back to last.
“I thought I was clear,” Hernandez said after speaking to Fair Grounds stewards.
The stewards disagreed, judging that Just Might’s inward drift caused the problems and placing him behind last-place Sir Alfred James.
As the race unfolded from the trouble spot, Just Might held a clear lead into the turn, cruising through a half-mile in 45.69 and running strong to the wire for a 2 3/4-length score. To Cowan’s credit, he persevered after regaining his action and crossed the finish 2 1/2 lengths in front of third-place Strike Me Down, which wound up making him a $10.40 winner for trainer Steve Asmussen and owners Spendthrift Farm and William and Corinne Heiligbrodt.
The winner’s time was 1:03.40.
Cowan, second to Golden Pal in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, is a 4-year-old by Kantharos out of Tempers Flair, by Smart Strike. He won for the third time in 13 starts.
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