Invested Prospect wires field in Hastings Stakes

Invested Prospect used her good speed to win the $50,000 Hastings Stakes at Emerald Downs Monday. She paid $19.20 for her front-running win in the six-furlong dash for fillies and mares.

With Kevin Orozco aboard, Invested Prospect broke sharply and held a 1 1/2-length lead over longshot Arabesque after a quarter-mile in 21.62 seconds. She was four lengths in clear of heavily favored Mother of Dragons when she posted a half-mile time of 44.11 seconds. Her lead had diminished to three lengths at the eighth pole, and with both horses drifting out, she held on to win by three-quarters of a length. Mother of Dragons broke from the rail and had a clean trip, but couldn’t catch the winner. Citizen Kitty, third, went very wide around the turn before finishing with good energy in the stretch.

The final time was 1:08.69.

“A couple of other horses broke better than she did, but it didn’t take her long to get to the front,” said Orozco. “Once she made the lead, I knew she was going to be tough to beat. I looked back at the quarter pole and felt pretty good about where we were.”

Orozco also rode Whatwasithinking to a win in the $50,000 Auburn stakes for 3-year-olds Sunday.

Invested Prospect has now won six races at Emerald Downs for trainer Blaine Wright and her only loss in seven sprints at the Auburn oval came in a $50,000 optional-claiming race on May 6, her first start this year.

“She pulled a muscle and missed some training going into her last race, so I wasn’t surprised she came up a bit short,” said Wright of Invested Prospect’s third-place finish.

The 5-year-old Washington-bred mare is owned by John and Janene Maryanski and Riverbend Farms. The $28,850 winner’s share of the purse brought her career earnings to $149,500.