Mr Money Bags surges in stretch, takes H-Town

Mr Money Bags won the ninth stakes race of his career Saturday night when he cruised to a 2 3/4-length win over Algebra in the $75,000 H-Town at Sam Houston Race Park.

The race was one of five restricted stakes that made up Texas Preview Day. The races are expected to produce starters for next month’s Texas Champions Day.

Mr Money Bags ($3.60) was content to stalk the pace through fractions of 23.11 seconds for the opening quarter and 45.62 for the half-mile before taking the lead in the stretch and increasing his advantage to the wire. He covered seven furlongs on a fast track in 1:24.40.

“I saw a lot of horses go to the lead and did not want to go,” winning rider Ernesto Valdez-Jiminez said in an interview broadcast by Sam Houston. “I saved him and had plenty of horse left. “

Valdez-Jiminez won a total of four races on the card, two of them in stakes. He long has been the regular rider of Mr Money Bags, who last year lost both his breeder and owner, Roy Cobb, and his trainer, Mike Neatherlin.

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Erma Cobb, the widow of Roy Cobb, now races the horse, who is trained by the late Neatherlin’s daughter, Jaylan Clary.

“He’s special to us,” Erma Cobb said in a post-race interview broadcast by Sam Houston.

“For me, he’s the best horse,” Valdez-Jiminez said.

Clary said last week that provided Mr Money Bags emerged from the H-Town in good order, the plan was to advance to Texas Champions Day.

The H-Town was for 4-year-olds and up bred in Texas.

Mr Money Bags is a son of Silver City who has now won 12 of 25 starts for earnings of $631,776.

*** Valdez-Jiminez guided Texas Thunder ($6) to a nose win over favorite Eagle Express in the $75,000 Two Altazano division of the Texas Stallion Stakes. The winner covered six furlongs for 3-year-old fillies by eligible stallions in 1:13.04. Karen Jacks trains the daughter of Bradester for Carl Moore Management.

The stallion Bradester celebrated a stakes double when his Chief Brady ($13.20) took the lead through a half-mile in 45.80 seconds and went on to a three-length victory in the $75,000 Jim’s Orbit division of the Texas Stallion Stakes. Chief Brady covered the distance in 1:12.30. Jansen Melancon was aboard for Southwestern Racing and trainer Dallas Keen.

Jacks also had a stakes double. She saddled No Mas Tequila ($23) to a 6 1/4-length win in the $75,000 Miss Bluebonnet Turf for fillies and mares bred in Texas. The winner stalked the pace through six furlongs in 1:12.94 and went on to cover a mile on firm turf in 1:38.14. Leandro Goncalves was aboard the daughter of Northern Afleet for the Estate of Ronald Ellerbee and James Sills.

Singapore Flash ($8.20) had one last spurt that lifted him to a neck win over Sunlit Song after an exhilarating stretch battle in the $75,000 Houston Turf for 4-year-olds and up bred in Texas. It was another 6 3/4 lengths back in third to Moojab Jr.

“I had a perfect trip,” winning rider Lane Luzzi said in an interview broadcast by Sam Houston. “So did Sunlit Song. I could feel him breathing down our throat.”

Singapore Flash was always prominent, racing with the pace through six furlongs in 1:12.95. He went on to cover the 1 1/16 miles on firm ground in 1:44.25.

J.R. Caldwell trains the son of Shanghai Bobby for Triple V Racing.