Pair of comfortable winners at Prairie

Friday evening's six-furlong juvenile races at Prairie Meadows, the Freshman and the Debutante, were both decided quickly on the turn by a pair of comfortable winners, Uh Oh Bango and Vertical Vision.

The Freshman, for colts and geldings, looked the more competitive race. However, once Glenn Corbett let Uh Oh Bango out a notch, the Arizona-bred ridgling by Top Hit shot clear and scored a 10 1/2-length win under a steady hand ride. The win was Uh Oh Bango's first stakes victory in just his third career start. He won his maiden race here Aug. 11 by eight lengths, then put forth a solid effort when second in Remington Park's Clever Trevor on Aug. 23, beaten three lengths by the highly-regarded Grand Slam Andre.

Always Wildcatin', who shipped in from Woodbine for trainer Steve Asmussen, plugged on to finish a remote second, 1 1/2 lengths clear of the Iowa-bred gelding Launch Light.

Collecting $30,000 in the process, the Kory Owens-trained Uh Oh Bango is owned by his breeders, the Triple AAA Ranch. The post time favorite returned $4.40 to win. Uh Oh Bango's timefor the race was a rapid 1:09.26.

In similar fashion, Vertical Vision, who had easily won the Prairie Gold Lassie here July 1h by six lengths, again showed her affinity for the surface. She surged seven lengths clear approaching the furlong marker on her own energy and was never asked by a motionless Israel Ocampo. Her winning margin was reduced to three lengths by the determined bid of runner-up Shake N Quake.

Trained by Asmussen and owned by the Heiligbrodt Racing Stable, the daughter of first crop stallion Pollard's Vision earned $30,000. The Oklahoma-bred lived up to her billing as she paid a mere $2.80 for her convincing score and stopped the clock in 1:10.21.