Giant Game goes large with Cornhusker Handicap triumph
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Giant Game ran to his potential Saturday night when he captured the Grade 3, $300,000 Cornhusker Handicap at Prairie Meadows by three-quarters of a length over fast-closing highweight Skippylongstocking.
It was another 1 1/4 lengths back in third to Ain’t Life Grand.
The race was the richest of the meet and part of the Iowa Festival of Racing that featured eight stakes between Friday and Saturday. The Cornhusker shared a card with the Iowa Derby, which went to How Did He Do That, and the Grade 3 Iowa Oaks, captured by Crypto Mo.
Giant Game stamped himself as 2-year-old of significance in 2021 when he ran third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Fast forward to his 4-year-old season and he became a stakes winner in the Cornhusker.
Giant Game ($20) broke on top from the rail in the 1 1/8-mile race and under Martin Garcia proceeded to take the field through a half-mile in 47.18 seconds , six furlongs in 1:11.41 and a mile in 1:37.07. (The time of the opening quarter that was posted during the running of the race was erroneous.) Giant Game went on to cover the distance on a fast track in 1:49.86.
“Our plan was to just take the race to them,” winning trainer Dale Romans said in an interview simulcast by Prairie Meadows.
Giant Game races for the partnership of West Point Thoroughbreds and Albaugh Family Stables.
“I’m so excited,” Dennis Albaugh, a longtime owner with strong ties to Iowa, said on the simulcast feed. “I’ve never won this race. I couldn’t be happier. This is one of my favorite tracks.”
Giant Game came into the Cornhusker in sharp form, off a first-level allowance win in May at Churchill Downs. He has now won 3 of 10 starts for earnings of $530,500. Giant Game is a half-brother to Isotherm, a Grade 2 winner of more than $500,000.
Skippylongstocking, who would have become a millionaire with a win, was co-highweighted at 120 pounds. He stalked the pace and put in a determined run for second. Ain't Life Grand, who was attempting to pull a significant stakes double as the winner of last year's Iowa Derby, came closing through the stretch Saturday.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.