Owner and trainer enjoy back-to-back stakes wins at Zia

Code West and Pass the Buck gave owner Bryan Hawk and trainer Boyd Caster a double to remember last Wednesday when they won the $150,000 Zia Park Distance Championship and the $200,000 Zia Park Derby in consecutive races.

It wasn’t the first time the runners had scored back-to-back wins. They did the same thing at Prairie Meadows on May 30, when Code West won the $65,000 Rasmussen Memorial and Pass the Buck won a maiden special weight sprint.

Fast forward six months, and the horses gave Hawk and Caster one of their most memorable days at the races.

“That definitely was a first for me,” Hawk said of the back-to-back stakes double at Zia. “It feels pretty good. It’s nice when you’ve got a great team around you. It’s really a team thing for us.”

Caster said the Zia Park Derby was the richest race he’s won as a trainer. Pass the Buck and Code West invaded from Remington Park and, after that meet closes in mid-December, are scheduled to ship to Oaklawn, where Caster will have a division for the meet, which opens in January. He said his stable will include horses for owners Mary and Gary West.

Before the ship to Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark., Caster said Pass the Buck could run next at Fair Grounds in the $75,000 Woodchopper for 3-year-olds at about a mile on turf Dec. 31. Pass the Buck has made one start on grass, finishing second by a head in a Remington allowance against older horses in August.

In the Zia Derby, Pass the Buck closed from 12th for a half-length win over Semper Fortis. Pass the Buck earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 90 while making just the seventh start of his career.

“Pass the Buck, he’s still green,” Caster said. “He hadn’t really quite figured things out. He’s got a ton of talent. He likes to play a lot. He’s never gotten serious, laid his belly right down, and just got after it. It’s like it’s all a game to him.”

Code West won the Zia Park Distance Championship on the front end, earning an 86 Beyer.

“We just made a few changes on Code West – added blinkers on him – and it really got him more focused on what he’s supposed to do,” said Caster.

Caster said plans for Code West have not been mapped out.