How Did He Do That ($98) survives dead heat, stewards' inquiry in Iowa Derby
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The 48-1 longshot How Did He Do That finished in a dead heat for first in Saturday night’s $250,000 Iowa Derby, but eventually was declared the standalone winner in the Prairie Meadows race after the disqualification of One in Vermillion.
How Did He Do That and One in Vermillion hit the wire together as part of a tight, three-horse battle that led to a stewards’ inquiry, a jockey’s objection, and then the disqualification that placed One in Vermillion second over third-place finisher Heroic Move.
The Iowa Derby was one of four stakes on the card that included the Grade 3, $300,000 Cornhusker, won by Giant Game ($20). The stakes were part of the annual Racing Festival of Iowa that was held Friday and Saturday.
How Did He Do That ($98) stalked the pace in fifth Saturday as One in Vermillion took the field through fractions of 23.22 seconds for the opening quarter, 47.56 for the half-mile and 1:11.89 for six furlongs. How Did He Do That advanced three wide on the final turn and challenged the leader in the stretch, with One in Vermillion coming back along the rail as the pair covered the 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:43.57.
“The horse bumped me a few times,” winning rider Richard Eramia said of One in Vermillion in an interview simulcast by Prairie Meadows.
Following the race, a stewards’ inquiry was posted. It was then announced that the rider of Heroic Move had claimed foul against both One in Vermillion and How Did He Do That, who was sandwiched between the two horses Saturday.
The stewards announced that One in Vermillion came out and bumped How Did He Do That in the late stages in what cost How Did He Do That a placing. The stewards also said the interference to Heroic Move that happened near the finish did not cost that horse a placing. Heroic Move finished a half-length behind the top two runners in the Iowa Derby.
Eramia was riding How Did He Do That for the first time and said he watched the horse's replays, particularly from Sunland Park, where How Did He Do That finished second in the Riley Allison Derby and fourth in the Sunland Derby. The horse came into the Iowa Derby off a seventh-place finish in the Texas Derby at Lone Star Park.
“I watched the replays,” Eramia said on the simulcast feed. “I think I know what he likes and we got it.”
Steve Asmussen trains How Did He Do That for J. Kirk and Judy Robison. The horse was winning his second stakes in the Iowa Derby, behind the Zia Park Juvenile. Overall, the son of Good Magic has compiled a record of 3 wins from 11 starts for earnings of $299,051. Stormin Maggy, the winning dam of How Did He Do That, is a half-sister to Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner Afleet Alex.
*Reaper ($3.40) came back along the rail for a neck win over Dialed in to Win in the $100,000 Prairie Gold Juvenile. The winner covered 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:05.71. Cristian Torres was aboard.
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