Stormin Away strikes again in Val Royal

Stormin Away won his second restricted race of 2006 in Saturday's $61,000 Val Royal Stakes at Hollywood Park.

Ridden by Corey Nakatani, Stormin Away rallied wide on the final turn to catch an unlucky Buckland Manor in the final sixteenth. El Don finished third in the field of eight.

Jockey David Cohen, who rode fourth-place finisher Clipperdown, lodged an objection against Buckland Manor for interference in the stretch. After a four-minute review, the stewards disqualified Buckland Manor from second to fourth, resulting in the promotion of El Don and Clipperdown.

Stormin Away ($10.60) ran 1 1/16 miles on turf in 1:40.99, winning by a head. Owned by Joey and Wendy Platts and trained by Jeff Mullins, Stormin Away was seventh on the backstretch, well behind the pace of 23.40 and 46.65 seconds set by Wild Buddy.

Racing off the rail throughout, Stormin Away began making progress on the turn but needed the entire stretch to catch Buckland Manor.

Storming Away, 4, has won 6 of 23 starts and earned $280,208. He won the Harry Brubaker Stakes at Del Mar in August, but had lost three subsequent starts in stakes, including an eighth-place finish in the Grade 1 Citation Handicap here on Nov. 24.