Hot Zapper edges String King to win Louisiana Champions Day Turf

A horse without a rider might have cost String King his fourth win in the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Turf as the valiant Louisiana-bred grass star lost a photo finish in the race Saturday to the longshot Hot Zapper.

Benwill clipped heels a half-furlong into the Turf and unseated rider Marcelino Pedroza, but the horse still had racing on his mind and accelerated into the first turn, coming quickly inside String King, and forcing him and jockey Richard Eramia about seven paths out into the course. And that might have been the difference between victory and defeat as Hot Zapper edged String King by a nose.

String King also might never have seen Hot Zapper, who finished along the rail under Jose Riquelme while String King, about four paths wide, fought off an outside challenge from Hopeful Notion, who finished third, a neck behind String King. Hot Zapper ran 1 1/16 miles on firm turf in 1:46.17 and paid $44 to win. Benwill ran a tremendous race, albeit with a major weight break, crossing the wire several lengths in front of Hot Zapper.

String King, though defeated, surpassed $1 million in career earnings for breeder-owner-trainer Charlie Smith. He’s a son of the stallion Crowned King, whose advertised stud fee is $1,500.

The race was run at a snail’s pace, the half-mile split going in 50.39 seconds, and Hot Zapper, though he was caught three wide both turns, had a tactical edge on String King while tracking that slow tempo. Riquelme dove down to the inside in the stretch, and Hot Zapper came home just well enough to win his first stakes race.

Hot Zapper didn’t race between May 2014 and July 2015, and though Hot Zapper had shown dirt ability before his layoff, trainer Andy Leggio and owner-breeder Ronald Webb focused on turf this year.

“We thought he was a dirt horse at first, but then we tried him on the turf over at Louisiana Downs, and he ran very, very well,” said Leggio.

Hot Zapper, a son of Ghostzapper out of Hot Talent, won his third race in a row and ran his career record to 4-2-0 from 11 starts.

Pacific Pink overcomes trouble in Ladies

Pacific Pink won the $100,000 Champions Day Ladies by three-quarters of a length, but her margin of victory doesn’t come close to reflecting her superiority Saturday.

Trapped inside and behind horses for nearly the entire trip, Pacific Pink and Robby Albarado had to make their own hole when faced with an increasingly desperate situation in the homestretch, but Pacific Pink was up to the task. Private Promise had Pacific Pink hemmed in at the head of the stretch, and even after bumping that filly out of the way for room, Pacific Pink still had no clear run. She finally found a slight seam at the eighth pole, came through it willingly, and proved much the best when finally able to run.

And that was just the stretch run. Pacific Pink and Albarado found themselves near the back of the pack as Heatseeker Sharon went a slow opening quarter-mile in 25.03, and though Albarado probed between horses for better position down the backstretch, he found his mount shuffled back again when Aliana made a wide early move after a half-mile in a wind-aided 48.96. But Pacific Pink was favored at odds of 1-2 for a reason, her margin for error wide enough to overcome all the trouble.

Trained by Eddie Johnston for Keith Plaisance, Pacific Pink ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:46.15 and paid $3 to win. A 3-year-old filly by Private Vow out of Truly Romantic bred by Brandon Adcock, Pacific Pink won for the sixth time in 10 starts. Pacific Pink never has finished worse than third and appears at least as good on turf, where she has two wins and a second from three starts.