Prairie Meadows: Looking Cool rallies to win Iowa Derby

Set up by a speed duel between favorites Our Double Play and Manando, longshot Looking Cool rallied from the rear half of the pack to edge Betweenhereandcool by a neck in Saturday night’s Grade 3, $250,000 Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows.

Fifth of seven early as the field strung out behind contested fractions of 23.39 seconds, 46.99, and 1:11.54, the winner kicked into gear on the final turn. He then proved successful in a long stretch drive to narrowly catch runner-up Betweenhereandcool, who had taken the lead with 70 yards remaining.

Winning jockey Leandro Goncalves said that with a quarter-mile remaining, “I thought I had a shot to win.”

Bashaar, who broke a few lengths behind the field and trailed early, rallied for third, 1 1/4 lengths behind Betweenhereandcool. The favored Our Double Play held fourth.

Looking Cool, a 3-year-old son of a Candy Ride owned and bred by Jim Tafel, rebounded from a distant eighth in the Matt Winn Stakes in winning the Iowa Derby. Previously this year, he had won maiden and allowance races at Gulfstream Park and ran second in the Northern Spur at Oaklawn Park.

Trained by Carl Nafzger, Looking Cool paid $36.20. He raced 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:44.29, somewhat faster than the 1:44.65 that Fiftyshadesofhay ran in winning the Iowa Oaks a race earlier.