Officiating shows two-turn stakes no problem with Cornhusker

Officiating expanded his resume Saturday night when he won a two-turn stakes for the first time in his career in the Grade 3, $300,000 Cornhusker Handicap at Prairie Meadows.

Officiating darted to a 1 1/4-length victory over Fleetridge, while it was another length back in third to 3-5 favorite and highweight Warrant.

The Cornhusker was the main event during the two-night Iowa Festival of Racing. Prairie Meadows featured four Thoroughbred stakes on each card. The races were worth a cumulative $1.2 million.

Officiating ($18.80) had won three sprint stakes prior to the Cornhusker, among them the Grade 3 Tom Fool in March at Aqueduct and the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector in December at Gulfstream Park. He was stretching out from six furlongs Saturday and settled just off the pace set by Fleetridge and Flash of Mischief, who raced through an opening quarter in 23.70 seconds, a half-mile in 49.52 and six furlongs in 1:13.31.

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Officiating began his wind-up on the final turn, came three wide into the stretch, and continued on to get past the leaders and cover the 1 1/8 miles distance on a fast track in 1:50.04.

“I really liked the way he did it today,” winning rider Javier Castellano said in an interview broadcast by Prairie Meadows. “He finished really well.”

Saffie Joseph Jr. trains Officiating for Vegso Racing Stable. Officiating is a son of Blame and a half-brother to champion Caledonia Road. He has now won 5 of 19 starts for earnings of $534,097.