Fairmount Park: Work All Week tops Midwest Thoroughbreds exacta

Work All Week led a one-two Midwest Thoroughbreds finish for trainer Roger Brueggemann in the $52,500 Tex’s Zing Stakes, beating stablemate Signsealndeliver by 1 1/4 lengths while cementing his position as the leading Illinois-bred sprinter in training. Work All Week, a 4-year-old homebred gelding by City Zip, now has won six of eight starts overall, and six of seven during 2013, his only loss coming by a nose after he dueled on a hot pace in an Arlington stakes race earlier this summer. In the Tex’s Zing, Work All Week and jockey Cisco Torres made the most of an easy early lead, running the last quarter-mile in 23.40 seconds, the same as Work All Week’s opening quarter. Final time for the six furlongs was 1:09.60. River Bear finished third.

Earlier on the card, Midwest, Brueggemann, and Torres had another stakes win taken away when Missjeanlouise was disqualified from a gutty half-length win to third in the $52,250 Lady Riss Stakes. Breaking from the outside in a six-furlong sprint, Torres steered toward the rail and lead with his mount, briefly putting Algonquin Posse in tight quarters along the rail leaving the backstretch chute and joining the main track. Jockey Chris Emigh steadied on Algonquin Posse, but the mare held her position and came through to lead Missjeanlouise down the backstretch and around most of the turn. Missjeanlouise passed her at the quarer pole and took over at the top of the stretch, holding off Algonquin Posse’s entry-mate Win’em All by a half-length while drifting in slightly and causing Algonquin Posse – clearly a beaten horse at that point – to steady at about the eighth pole. Emigh lodged an objection, stewards conducted an inquiry, and Missjeanlouise was taken down for the early incident. The entry of Win’em All and Algonquin Posse – owned by Fairmount owner Bill Stiritiz – was elevated to first and second, paying $3 and $2.10.

No such luck came to Stiritz’s heavily favored entry in the $51,500 Pete Condellone, where Nagys Piggy Bank and Garland’s Spirit finished second and third behind the Tom Dorris-trained, Noel Vigil-ridden Luv Bandit ($5.60). Sassy Ms Elizabeth ($11.80) won the All Sold Out for 2-year-old fillies, while Solar Flair ($5.60) – Torres up again - took the Troy Our Boy for 2-year-old males. Stiritz and trainer Scott Becker collected a second stakes when Our Domain ($7.60) won the Bungalow.