Prairie Meadows: Remit, Stachys score in tune-ups for Iowa Festival of Racing

Remit and Stachys captured Saturday night’s first two significant prep races for the June 24-25 Iowa Festival of Racing at Prairie Meadows.

In the $60,000 Wild Rose, a 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares pointing to the $100,000 Iowa Distaff, Remit wore down pacesetter Taptam after a stretch-long duel to prevail by a nose in a three-horse photo. The steadily gaining Always in My Heart managed to get to Taptam and created a dead heat for the place spot.

Remit, a 4-year old homebred daughter of Tapit trained by Steve Asmussen, showed her determination and affinity for this surface under leading rider Terry Thompson. Earning $36,000 in the process, she covered the distance in a solid 1:42.02. Remit, who was victorious in last season's $60,000 Panthers Stakes locally, paid a generous $17.60 to win as the longest shot on the board in the field of six.

Stachys, a durable Canterbury invader competing in his 10th straight stakes event since last July, was swung six wide at the top of the stretch by Derek Bell and surged past his rivals to score by 1 3/4 lengths in the $60,000 Jim Rasmussen Memorial, a prep for the Festival's signature event, the Grade 3, $300,000 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap.

Owned by Al and Bill Ulwelling and conditioned by Michael Biehler, Stachys ($9.80), a 4-year-old gelded son of Candy Ride, is expected to return for the Cornhusker. He ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:41.51.

Racing Bran, second in last year’s Cornhusker, finished second, a length ahead of last year's Cornhusker winner, the front-running Shadowbdancing.