Rusty Spur breaks clean, wins

In each of his last three starts, 4-year-old colt Rusty Spur has had severe problems breaking from the gate. He got away much cleaner in Monday's $59,100 Appointment Stakes at Delaware Park and the result was a convincing 2 1/4-length victory over five other sprinters.

Rusty Spur ($5.20), part of an entry owned by Mike Gill and trained by John Robb, gave jockey Ramon Dominguez the third of his four wins on the program, covering six furlongs in 1:10.48.

"This horse has a ton of talent," said Gill. "I mean I think he is one of the fastest horses in the country. Our problem with him has been breaking out of the gate. We have tried tailing him, we have tried blinkers, and taking the blinkers off."