Dancing Master wins by neck

A yielding turf course and an honest pace helped Dancing Master rally to a neck upset over Keep Cool in Saturday's $100,000 Flying Pidgeon Handicap at Calder.

Dancing Master likes running on a grass course that has some give to it. Earlier this year the 7-year-old Irish-bred ran second in the Band Is Passing Stakes over a "good" strip, and in his previous start came within a neck of upsetting Bobs Proud Moment over a "yielding" course in the Grade 3 Miami Mile Breeders' Cup Handicap.

The turf was yielding again for the 1 1/8-mile Flying Pidgeon, and just as he had in the Miami Mile, Dancing Master lagged near the back of the pack for six furlongs before angling out and then running down the leaders with a furious stretch rally. Keep Cool moved to a clear lead in early stretch but could not withstand the winner's surge.

Bob's Proud Moment raced within striking distance but lacked the necessary response and finished fourth as the 5-2 favorite in a field of 10.

Dancing Master, a son of Nashwan trained by Marcelo Castro, paid $19.60. He was timed in 1:50.22 under jockey Richard Bracho.