Unusual Suspect outbattles Ten a Penny

Unusual Suspect ($8) stayed tucked in on the rail the whole trip as he captured the $75,000 Bay Meadows Derby, beating favored Ten a Penny by a head.

Unusual Suspect sat comfortably behind Zoning In, who took the lead in the 1 1/16-mile turf race when no one else showed an inclination to set the pace. Zoning In, who finished third, three-quarters of a length behind Ten a Penny, led until deep stretch when Ten a Penny got by him to the outside and Unusual Suspect went by inside him. The winning time was 1:44.59.

"It wasn't that tight down the stretch," winning jockey Kyle Kaenel said. "He was waiting for me to ask him. I hit him a couple times left-handed, and he really gave it to me.

"They told me just to let him place himself and be comfortable. They said to let him drag me around the turn. He pulled me around, and when I asked him, he gave me his life."

Alex Bisono said runner-up Ten a Penny "took a little while to get going, but once he did, he ran on strong."

Joe Castro was pleased with Zoning In's effort.

"When I asked him coming into the stretch, he picked it up, but they wore us down the final sixteenth," Castro said.

Unusual Suspect, owned by trainer Barry Abrams and David and Dyan Abrams, was scoring his first stakes victory. He has won 4 of 16 starts.