Plain Ol' Willard pulls off 14-1 upset in George Lewis Memorial

Plain Ol’ Willard, who snapped an 11-race losing streak when he made his first start since November a week ago, wheeled right back to upset Saturday’s $75,000 George Lewis Memorial Stakes for Ohio-accredited horses at Thistledown.

It was the fifth lifetime stakes victory for Plain Ol’ Willard ($31.80), a 6-year-old son of Pacific Waves, and his first stakes win since he took the Best of Ohio Endurance in the fall of 2014.

Ridden for the first time by Terry Houghton, Plain Ol’ Willard stalked in third, about 1 1/2 lengths off slow fractions of 51.08 seconds and 1:16.40 set by the 3-year-old My Pardner Cal. Plain Ol’ Willard passed My Pardner Cal in the stretch and scored by a length, completing 1 1/8 miles in 1:55.40. He is trained by Kathleen Lowry for M.Y. Stables and has now won 8 of 38 starts and $336,149..

My Pardner Cal, coming off a third-place finish on turf in the Green Carpet at Belterra Park, held second by a head over late-running Eightthehardway.

Jac’s Fact, the 2015 Ohio-bred Horse of the Year and defending Lewis champion, was a non-threatening sixth, beaten eight lengths, as the even-money favorite.

The victory by Plain Ol' Willard completed a conseutive riding triple for Houghton, who won back-to-back allowance races prior to the stakes on Luckyallmylife ($3.60) and Couldnt Wait ($10). A $1 pick three linking all three Houghton winners paid $535.10.