Wire Bound takes Sir Omni

Rain or shine and no matter the course condition, Wire Bound left little doubt who is the king of the local 3-year-old turf division with a decisive 4 3/4-length victory over Cervelo in Saturday's $40,000 Sir Omni Stakes at Calder Race Course.

Rain was falling and the wind gusted up to 50 miles an hour courtesy of Hurricane Jeanne by the time the the field of seven 3-year-olds went off over a good turf course for the 1 1/16-mile Sir Omni. Wire Bound raced within easy striking distance of the early pacesetter, Frolic for Joy, for the opening six furlongs under jockey Manoel Cruz. Wire Bound easily overtook the leader in early stretch, then drew off with authority in the final furlong.

Cervelo broke poorly but finished strongest of all to be second, checking in a half-length before the tiring Frolic of Joy. Silversandsoftime, Flight to Justice, Sovereign Honor, and D L Renzo rounded out the order of finish.

Wire Bound added the Sir Omni to a similarly easy victory over a firm course in the Simply Majestic Stakes earlier in the session. A son of Hesabull trained by Manuel Criollo, Wire Bound finished fourth, beaten 1 1/4 lengths by older horses in the Grade 3 Miami Mile Breeders' Cup Handicap two weeks before the Sir Omni.

Wire Bound paid $3.80 after covering the distance in 1:45.76 seconds. He is expected to return as one of the favorites in the Grade 3 Calder Derby on Oct. 23.

* Despite weather conditions that deteriorated rapidly as Hurricane Jeanne moved towards the south Florida coastline, Calder managed to finish its entire 13-race program on Saturday. Races were run with fewer than 20 minutes between posts to expedite the card.