Sunland Park: Rebranded wins maiden in Riley Allison Futurity

Rebranded picked a lucrative spot to win his maiden, scoring by two lengths in the $104,800 Riley Allison Futurity at Sunland Park on Sunday.

Rebranded ($4.60), ridden by Ry Eikleberry, was favored in the field of six 2-year-olds for the one-mile stakes race. He raced in fifth place early and advanced to third on the backstretch while Alsono carved out fractions of 22.93 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 46.14 for the half-mile.

Rebranded moved to challenge the leaders three wide entering the final turn and stuck his head in front at the top of the lane. He drifted out in upper stretch, forcing eventual runner-up Lawly’s Goal to move inside, before drawing off and stopping the clock in 1:38.73 on a fast track. Stewards reviewed the stretch run bud did not change the order of finish.

Alsono finished third, three-quarters of a length behind Lawly’s Goal and a neck in front of The Tom Squad. Cloud Harbor and Ima Happy Strike completed the order of finish. F J Uncle Vic and D E Lover were scratched.

Rebranded, by Tiznow, is trained by Justin Evans for Tony A. Pennington. The colt was a $350,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Florida sale in March. Rebranded had raced four times in maiden special weight races prior to the Riley Allison Futurity, with his best finish a second at Parx Racing in October. He finished fourth after setting the pace in a 1 1/8-mile race at Aqueduct last month.