Maggi Moss' Grand Contender will try to nail down a third consecutive stakes victory and his second straight at Lone Star Park when he faces an expected five rivals in the $200,000 Lone Star Park Handicap (gr. III) May 26.
Trained by Tom Amoss, Grand Contender enters off a half-length victory in the Texas Mile Stakes (gr. III) April 26 at Lone Star. That victory marked the first graded win for the 6-year-old Strong Contender gelding, who is a strong 6-5 morning line favorite in Monday's event.
Claimed in 2012 by trainer Steve Asmussen for Moss, Grand Contender will be looking for the fourth stakes win of his career in the Lone Star Park Handicap, a 1 1/16-mile race where he will carry high weight of 121 pounds.
Asmussen will saddle Called to Serve, who is appropriately named for the Memorial Day race. Looking for his first career graded stakes win will be Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch's Donoharm, who enters off a runner-up finish in an April 11 allowance race at Oaklawn Park.
$200,000 Lone Star Park Handicap (gr. III, race 8, approximate post time 4:51 p.m. CDT) 3YO&Up, 1 1/16 miles
PP, Horse, Jockey, Weight, Trainer, ML Odds
1. Called to Serve (KY), L. Quinonez, 115, S. Asmussen, 3-1
2. He Has Bling (TX), D. Cabrera, 119, D. Durham, 20-1
3. Grand Contender (KY), R. Eramia, 121, T. Amoss, 6-5
4. Donoharm (KY), M. Berry, 117, W. Calhoun, 9-5
5. F J Uncle Vic (TX), E. Valdez-Jiminez, 111, T. Eoff, 20-1
6. Texas Air (TX), D. Wood, 116, A. Milligan, 15-1