Delegation wires Durham Cup

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Delegation wires Durham Cup
by BRIS
Date Posted: 10/14/2012 8:10:26 PM
Last Updated: 10/18/2012 3:28:05 PM

Gary Barber's Delegation went wire-to-wire at Woodbine in the Grade 3, $153,411 Durham Cup. The 6-5 favorite paid $4.50, $2.80 and $2.10 to his backers on Sunday and has now hit the board in all six of his lifetime starts.

"He has just been doing everything right," assistant trainer Kathryn Sullivan said. "He's never been worse than third in his career. He is such a consistent horse and I think he has really been improving."

The three-year-old gelding was jostled at the start but broke right to the lead, setting fractions of :25 2/5, :50 2/5 and 1:15. Trained by Mark Casse, Delegation was able to hold off the defending champion, City Wolf, in the stretch and claim a 1 1/4-length victory. The son of Speightstown covered 1 1/8 miles over the Polytrack in 1:50 3/5 with Patrick Husbands aboard.

"He is legit fast leaving the gate and he's not a run off type horse," Husbands said. "He's a Speightstown, which is speed, speed, but when he's on the lead, he's not going to run off on you."

Following City Wolf in the order of finish were James Street, Alpha Bettor, Vertiformer and Mobilizer.

Delegation was coming off an optional claiming win at this track last time out. This was the bay gelding's first stakes win, which boosted his lifetime earnings to $250,045 and he now has a career line which reads 6-4-1-1.

Bred in Kentucky by Tom and Elizabeth Baxter, he was sold in 2010 for $62,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He was then sold for $150,000 the following year as a two-year-old in training at Fasig-Tipton Florida.

Delegation's dam is the Sea Hero mare Cindy's Hero, who is a Grade 1 winner and half-sister to Grade 1-scoring sire Fourty Niners Son. Also from this female family is the dual champion Silverbulletday, who earned more than $3 million in her career while racking up wins in the Kentucky Oaks, Alabama and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, all Grade 1 races.

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