Red Route One edges Unload in Cornhusker Handicap

Red Route One pushed his career earnings past $1.8 million on Saturday night when he used his trademark closing kick to catch stablemate Unload for a half-length win in the Grade 3, $300,000 Cornhusker Handicap at Prairie Meadows.

The horses were both bred by owner Winchell Thoroughbreds and are trained by Steve Asmussen.

The Cornhusker was the richest offering during the $1.2 million Iowa Festival of Racing that featured eight Thoroughbred stakes between Friday and Saturday.

Red Route One ($9) was the 120-pound highweight for a season in which he won the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic in April. He had two horses beat in the early stages Saturday, as 66-1 shot Unload jumped out to the lead and set fractions of 24 seconds for the opening quarter, 48.70 for the half-mile and 1:12.77 for six furlongs. Red Route One began his wind-up after that point, and closed with a rush to get to the wire first, covering 1 1/8 miles on a fast track in 1:49.62.

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Cristian Torres, who was aboard Red Route One, said he encountered a fair track for his late-running mount Saturday.

“Today horses were winning on the lead and coming from behind, so I was pretty confident coming into the race,” he said in a post-race interview broadcast by Prairie Meadows.

Red Route One earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 94 for his Cornhusker.

Following the race, there was a stewards’ inquiry into the stretch run and Velocitor, who finished third, a length behind Unload, was disqualified and placed fourth. The action elevated Ain’t Life Grand from fourth to third.

Red Route One came into the Cornhusker off a fourth-place finish in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special. Kingsbarns, the runner-up from that race, came back to win the Grade 1 Stephen Foster last weekend at Churchill Downs.

Red Route One is now 5 for 21. The $2 exacta with is longshot stablemate paid $366. Red Route One and Unload are both by Gun Runner and both from the female family of champion Untapable.

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