Grand Hombre captures Pa. Derby as favorites flop

Trainer Dennis Manning and jockey Joe Bravo have been an unbeatable combination in major stakes races the past week and a half.

Ten days after Bravo rode the Manning-trained Valid Video to an upset in the Grade 1 King's Bishop at Saratoga, he and the Monmouth-based trainer struck again. This time, unbeaten 3-year-old colt Grand Hombre drew off to a 5 1/4-length victory in Monday's $750,000 Pennsylvania Derby at Philadelphia Park.

Neither Dynever nor Toccet, the two biggest names in the Grade 3 race, managed to hit the board. Dynever, the 3-2 favorite, was squeezed back at the start and made a six-wide bid coming into the stretch, but finished a distant sixth. Toccet, second choice at 5-2, sat close to the pace for a quarter-mile, then dropped back and tried to rally but could do no better than fifth, outfinishing Dynever by three-quarters of a length.

Grand Hombre paid $13.40 to win and a string of longshots chased him home, triggering some huge exotic payoffs. Gimmeawink, a front-running 29-1 shot who led by two lengths with six furlongs remaining, held on for second, two lengths ahead of 36-1 Ashmore. The $2 trifecta paid $3,845.80, and the lone $1 ticket on a superfecta completed by 28-1 Christine's Outlaw returned $38,666.70.

Grand Hombre, now 4 for 4 in his career, covered 1 1/8 miles on a sloppy track in 1:49.03.

"He showed me he has the class," said Bravo, who became the first jockey in 25 runnings of the Pennsylvania Derby to win the race twice. He also won in 1994 aboard Meadow Flight. Bravo said Grand Hombre "made a move on the backside going by horses like they were trees."

Manning said he would wait to see how Grand Hombre comes out of the race before deciding when and where the Grand Slam colt will run next.

- City Fire ($4.60) won for the fourth time in her last five starts when she led wire to wire in the $100,000 Pennsylvania Oaks for 3-year-old fillies. Souris, who spotted the field several lengths when she dwelt at the start, came from last to get within a neck of City Fire at the finish of the mile and 70-yard race.