Lone Star Park: Calhoun takes pair of stakes

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Trainer Bret Calhoun won two of the three stakes on the card Saturday at Lone Star Park, when Worldventurer withstood a claim of foul to take the $100,000 colts and geldings division Texas Thoroughbred Association Sales Futurity and Circustown Rose wired the field in the $50,000 Lane's End Stallion Scholarship Stakes.

Also on the card, Falling Star won her maiden in the $100,000 fillies division of the TTA Sales Futurity.

Worldventurer ($6.60) settled into a stalking trip, racing behind City Fast and Boogalee as they dueled through an opening quarter in 21.97 seconds and a half-mile in 45.73. Worldventurer angled out into the stretch, proceeded to overtake the leaders and darted to a 2 1/4- length win over Changing Karma.

"He really found his stride the last sixteenth of a mile," said Jamie Theriot, who rode Worldventurer for trainer Bret Calhoun.

Worldventurer covered five furlongs in 58.55 seconds. A claim of foul against the winner was lodged by Gerardo Mora, who rode runner-up Changing Karma, but it was disallowed.

Worldventurer, an eight-length maiden winner in his second career start on May 24, was the first stakes winner for owner Wesley Melcher.

"It's exciting," he said. "One year ago we claimed our first horse out here at Lone Star. He won the same way in his last start. He just pulled away. It makes it a lot less nerve-wracking at the very end."

Worldveturer was Calhoun's fourth winner in the colts and geldings division of the TTA.

Circustown Rose ($14.40) was clear early in the Lane's End Stallion Stakes, up by a 1 1/2 lengths through an opening quarter in 24.67 seconds after the presumed pacesetter, Youcannotbeserious, missed the break. Circustown Rose continued to coast on the lead in the 7 1/2-furlong race for Texas-bred fillies and mares run on yielding turf, winning by 3 1/2 lengths over Patty's Pride. Cliff Berry rode the winner for Ox Creek Farms.

In the fillies division of the TTA Sales Futurity, Falling Star ($13) gave her trainer, Steve Rasmussen, a ninth win in the 20-year-old race. She pushed Ballerinagonewild through an opening quarter in 22.10 seconds, then darted clear to cover five furlongs in 58.31 seconds. Falling Star is a half-sister to multiple stakes winners Superpave and Expect Will. Will S. Farish owns Falling Star, who was ridden by Bryan McNeil.

** Lone Star on Saturday was the site of the Texas Thoroughbred Association's annual banquet, and the organization announced at the gathering that Jackie Rich, a past president of the TTA, was the 2011 member of the year. Danny Shifflett, the manager of Lane's End Texas, received the lifetime achievement award from the TTA on Saturday.