Moonlit Garden much the best in Iowa Distaff

Moonlit Garden salvaged the weekend at Prairie Meadows for trainer Brad Cox and Florent Geroux when she won the $100,000 Iowa Distaff by 8 1/2 lengths Saturday night.

Cox, partnered with Geroux, had horses in five stakes over the two-day Iowa Festival of Racing. On Friday night’s card, Exclamation Point finished seventh as the favorite in the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker after Night Ops had been fifth as the favorite in the Iowa Derby, and in the race before the Iowa Distaff, Maybe Wicked, who had a poor start, was fifth as the favorite in the Saylorville Stakes. Only Ulele, a good second to Lady Apple in Friday night’s Iowa Oaks, had really run to form before Moonlit Garden crushed foes in the Iowa Distaff.

Making her first start for Cox following a private purchase, Moonlit Garden broke from the rail in this two-turn race and always looked loaded while racing inside and behind horses. Geroux came off the fence at about the five-sixteenths pole, had enough horse to pass through a narrow seam between pacesetting Baydar and Girl Power, and Moonlit Garden quickly opened daylight. Geroux gave a glance back with a half-furlong to go and let Moonlit Garden coast to the finish.

Off fractions of 23.50 seconds, 47.42, 1:11.90, and 1:37.26, Moonlit Garden was timed in 1:43.62 for 1 1/16 miles over a fast track, paying $4 to win as the favorite. Tracey Marks owns Moonlit Garden, a 5-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon and Winter Garden, by Roy, who now sports a record of 4-5-6 from 22 starts.

► Net Gain closed from last of six to win the $65,000 Cyclones Stakes for older Iowa-breds by one length. Ken Tohill rode the 7-year-old son of Include and Triple o’Five (by Elusive Quality) for trainer Clinton Stuart and the Claim to Fame Stable. One Fine Dream finished second, Shweet Persuasion was third, and odds-on favorite Han Sense, beaten chalk in this race a year ago, checked in fifth.