Usually Wrong powers to track record in Duncan Kenner

Usually Wrong is an unusually fast turf sprinter.

So fast that no horse has run 5 1/2 furlongs over the Fair Grounds grass course faster than Usually Wrong, who clocked a course-record 1:01.63 going wire to wire in the $100,000 Duncan Kenner Stakes on Saturday.

Usually Wrong broke sharply under Isaac Castillo, made an early lead over some other quick horses, and never looked back, setting blistering splits of 21.51 seconds and 43.73 on the way to a 2 3/4-length victory. Mondogetsbucks, who edged Bear River for second.

A north wind of about 20 miles per hour pushed Usually Wrong along into and through the homestretch, but regardless of conditions, Usually Wrong ran powerfully in the Kenner, acting as the pacesetter for the first time in nine races.

“He wanted to be in the front today, so I let him be. I let him do his job,” Castillo said.

Usually Wrong now has won eight times from 11 starts and is 6-4-1-0 in grass sprints. He ran somewhat flat finishing fourth in a Remington Park turf sprint stakes in September, his first outing since May, and crossed the wire first but was disqualified for interference Dec. 21 at Fair Grounds in a high-level allowance contest.

A 5-year-old homebred by Lookin at Lucky out of the Sky Mesa mare D R C’s Pretty Sky, Usually Wrong campaigns for BG Stables and Selman Shaby. Trainer Robertino Diodoro credited the owners for allowing Diodoro to back off on Usually Wrong’s training when the horse wasn’t thriving, giving him a chance to mature and improve.

“He’s just got a lot better,” Diodoro said.

The defined favorite, Usually Wrong paid $5 while facing eight rivals after four entrants were scratched. Not a bad price, actually, on a horse who usually wins.

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