The 3-year-old gelding pulled away on the final turn to win the State Fair Breeders Special Stakes on Friday.
BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Friday, June 15, 2007 7:00 pm
Perhaps Heso did a little bit of growing up during his unscheduled layoff of nearly two months.
The 3-year-old gelding, running in Lincoln for the first time, pulled away on the final turn for a comfortable victory in Friday night’s $20,000 State Fair Breeders Special Stakes at State Fair Park.
Heso, owned by Richard Galyen and trained by Kelly Von Hemel, hadn’t run since April 21 in Grand Island, but not by choice. Twice in the previous three weeks, Von Hemel brought the horse to Lincoln from Iowa, only to have each race canceled.
Jockey Dennis Collins, who’s ridden Heso his last five outings, noticed a more mature horse Friday.
“At Fonner Park, he was kind of like a kid, you know?” Collins said. “He was goofing around a little bit, and he wasn’t really paying attention. And today, it seemed like he was really paying attention.”
It was the first time Heso had been stretched to a mile. He shadowed the pace, set by Bevys Best and jockey Armando Martinez, before taking the lead on the final turn. That’s when Collins brought out the whip.
“When he turned for home, I saw his ears come up, and I’m thinking bad thoughts,” Collins said. “I’m thinking, ‘Aw, he’s gonna want to stop, he’s gonna want to wait.’
“That’s when I kind of slapped him a couple of times. Just a reminder to know he’s supposed to go back to running again, which he did.”
Heso was 7¾ lengths ahead of Dice, ridden by Yuri Yaranga and trained by Kim Veerhusen. Dice saved ground throughout most of the race before rallying on the final turn but didn’t have enough to catch Heso. Bevys Best faded and finished fifth in the six-horse field.
A 3-5 post time favorite, Heso paid $3 to win the race for Nebraska-bred 3-year-olds.
“He was running so relaxed all through the race,” Collins said. “Every other time he was a little rambunctious. He just seemed like he matured so much this time.”
There won’t be another long layoff for Heso. Von Hemel, who also had four entries Friday night at Prairie Meadows in Iowa, will nominate Heso for next weekend’s State Fair Derby.
Matchmaker Stakes
Plaer’s Trump will be going after her second stakes victory at State Fair Park tonight. The 3-year-old filly is a 5-2 morning-line favorite to win the $20,000 Matchmaker Stakes, a mile race for Nebraska-bred fillies and mares.
Trained by Herb Riecken, Plaer’s Trump won the May 13 Princess Stakes. Dating to last year, she’s won four consecutive starts. Rob Williams will ride.
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.