The Niner Account overcomes troubled break

The Niner Account rebounded from a troubled start to win the $40,000 Chuck Taliaferro Memorial by a length and a quarter Saturday night at Remington Park. Herecomesthemannow finished second, a nose in front of third-place finisher Lumbre.

The Niner Account ($5.40) was bumped after the start of the six-furlong Taliaferro, and trailed the field early as Explosive Count led through fractions of 22.02 seconds for the opening quarter and 44.71 seconds for the half-mile mark. The Niner Account rallied in the stretch, and covered the distance in 1:09.01.

Cliff Berry rode the winner, who was the 1-2 favorite, for trainer Martin Lozano.

"We were supposed to be close to the lead, but he got smashed coming out of the gate," said Lozano. "He had to take back with no place to run. It was a good thing we had Cliff on him. He waited for room and found a hole in the stretch."

The Niner Account earned $24,000 for the win, and overall has now won 17 of 30 starts and $297,030. He races for Gary Owens, and is a son of Unaccounted For.