D'Rapper surprises in Ed Skinner Stakes

D’Rapper, the rank outsider in a four-horse field, won the $65,000 Ed Skinner Stakes by a head on Saturday afternoon at Prairie Meadows.

D’Rapper and jockey Ramon Vazquez perched just behind a taxing duel between 4-5 favorite Welder and 19-10 second-choice Chief Cicatriz as that pair blazed a half-mile in 44.82 seconds. Chief Cicatriz, racing on the outside, got the better of Welder in midstretch but could not fend off D’rapper’s outside charge while finishing well clear of third-place Welder. Gordy Florida was fourth by a neck and Creative Art was scratched.

D’Rapper paid $19.60, boxcars in a field so short, and zipped six furlongs over a fast track in 1:08.94. Federico Villafranco trains D’Rapper for owner Danny Caldwell and those two claimed D’Rapper for $40,000 March 2 at Oaklawn. D’Rapper, a 6-year-old Illinois-bred gelding by Cherokee Rap out of D’Code, by Boundary, had drawn the rail in his first two starts for these connections and suffered a tough trip in his most recent start. Saturday, he needed no excuse.

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