Net Gain turns table on One Fine Dream in Cyclones Stakes

Net Gain got his head down right at the wire to beat One Fine Dream by a nose in the $65,000 Cyclones Stakes on Saturday at Prairie Meadows.

In the 2016 Cyclones, an Iowa-bred race, One Fine Dream edged Net Gain by a neck, but this year, Net Gain, wearing blinkers for the first time in a year, got the narrow decision.

The top two clearly were best, with Scrutinizer home third almost two lengths behind the leading two. Net Gain paid $9 to win and ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.38.

Trained by Clinton Stuart for Claim to Fame Stables, Net Gain entered the Cyclones on an eight-race losing streak, but many of those losses had come in sprints, and Net Gain, a son of Include and the Elusive Quality mare Triple o’ Five, prefers two-turn racing.

Jockey Terry Thompson let him settle last of eight behind contested fractions of 23.27 for the first quarter-mile and 47.46 for the half Saturday. One Fine Dream, stalking the pace while wide, attacked past the three-furlong pole, and under a heavy drive came between horses to take the lead in midstretch. But Net Gain steadily improved his position through the final furlong and came up on the outside to nip favored One Fine Dream for his fifth win in 24 starts.