Fonner: Medium Rare cooks

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - Medium Rare ($5.20) returned from a five-month layoff to capture the $25,800 Budweiser-Tondi Handicap Saturday.

Medium Rare, usually a stalker, carried jockey Ken Shino to the front of the six-furlong race after a quarter in 22.80 seconds. He moved clear going into the far turn after a half in 46.20, led by two lengths at the top of the stretch, and defeated Yankee Ruler by a half-length.

Medium Rare ran the six furlongs in a meet-best 1:12 on a fast track tightened by afternoon showers.