Dac wins Prairie Bayou for second straight year

Dac is typically a cut below the best in graded company on turf, as he showed with a fifth in his last race in the Grade 3 River City Handicap at Churchill Downs on Nov. 24.

But against modest stakes company on Polytrack at Turfway Park, Dac often experiences success. He did so Saturday evening at Turfway, winning the $50,000 Prairie Bayou for the second straight year by making a wide rally on the second turn and gradually inching past a stubborn frontrunner in Luck of the Kitten to win by a head.

A 5-year-old gelded son of Distorted Humor owned by Sarinana Racing LLC and trained by William Brumley, the winner raced 1 1/16 miles under Rodney Prescott in 1:42.76 over a surface tightened by steady rain throughout the evening. He paid $8.20 as the tepid favorite.

As was the case in his victory in the 2015 Prairie Bayou, Dac received a patient ride by Prescott, who allowed him to settle in ninth early, about five lengths off the pace. But with Designed for War and Luck of the Kitten setting contested fractions of 23.64 seconds, 47.27, and 1:11.23, that deficit was overcome over the final 5/16ths of the race.

Dac pulled alongside Luck of the Kitten in early stretch, and the race was essentially a two-horse affair in the final stages, with Dac always seeming to have Luck of the Kitten’s measure.

Enterprising, 2 1/4 lengths behind the runner-up, outkicked Wayward Kitten by a couple lengths for third.

Saturday’s race marked the 22nd renewal of the Prairie Bayou stakes, named after the champion gelding who won the Jim Beam Stakes at Turfway in 1993 before finishing second in the Kentucky Derby, winning the Preakness, then suffering a fatal breakdown in the Belmont Stakes.