Evangeline Downs: Sadie's Soldier rallies to take John Henry

OPELOUSAS, La. - Sadie’s Soldier, under patient handling by Kerwin Clark, split foes nearing the furlong marker and finished full of run to overtake Classic Cascade in the final strides to win Saturday night’s $50,000 John Henry Stakes at Evangeline Downs by three-quarters of a length. Dandy’s Legacy turned in a mild rally to earn third, outfinishing Merkabah.

Well back in the early going while Pirate Island was carving out early fractions of 22.75 and 47.08 seconds, Sadie’s Soldier ($12) began to advance while in some traffic exiting the final turn of the 1 1/16-mile race on the turf before finding an opening with a furlong to run. The winner stopped the timer in 1:41.05 over firm going. Trained by Brett Brinkman, he has won 6 of 16 starts and earned almost $197,000.