'Left' prevails by neck

OLDSMAR Fla. - Finding room along the inner rail in the stretch, Misguided Left stuck a head in front inside the final furlong and then refused to let Wire Bound get by en route to a neck victory in Saturday's $60,000 Pasco Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.

Under a good ride by Jesus Castanon, Misguided Left returned $12.60 as the third choice in the field of nine 3-year-olds and covered the seven furlongs over a racing strip labeled fast in 1:25.94.

Wire Bound, who was sent off at 20-1, was game in defeat, finishing 2 3/4 lengths ahead of pacesetter Bourbon N Blues. Kaufy Mate, who was bet down to the 3-2 choice, broke slowly under Manoel Cruz and was never a factor.

The win was the third in six lifetime starts for Misguided Left, a Florida-bred son of Double Honor who was bred by his owner, Joel Sainer. The $34,500 winner's share of the Pasco ran his career earnings to $75,400.

Attendance at Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday was 4,702.