Spring House gets his stakes

Spring House became a stakes winner at Laurel Park on Saturday when he closed with a furious rush to take the $85,000 Japan Racing Association Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for 3-year-olds.

The second betting choice in the full field of 14, Spring House was far back in the pack, as Ramazutti and Learning Now led the way through fractions of 23.27 seconds, 47.55, and 1:12.82. As Ramazutti turned for home with a short lead over longshot Fiscal Storm, Spring House was swung out five wide in midstretch by jockey Jose Velez Jr. and unleashed a powerful kick past the eighth pole. Ramazutti finished a length back in second, holding off third-place Sly One by a nose. United, a slight favorite over Spring House, was empty in the stretch and finished fifth.

Owned by R.D. Hubbard and trained by John Hennig, Spring House had hit the board in several turf stakes in 2005, finishing second in the Lamplighter and Jersey Derby at Monmouth and being disqualified from second to third in the Grade 3 Kent at Delaware. He paid $7.80 to win and covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.28 on good turf.