Beer Meister, at 40-1, rallied from last to win the $50,000 Turf Paradise Derby, upsetting the 7-10 favorite Indian Winter at the Phoenix, Ariz., track Feb. 26.
Ridden by Glenn Corbett for trainer Manuel Ortiz and owners Jim Egger and William Burns, Beer Meister closed with a rush from the extreme outside and drew off for a two-length win over Twice the Appeal. The winning time was 1:41.99 for the 1 1/16-mile distance over a fast track.
Twice the Appeal was disqualified from second to fourth for interference during the stretch run, which moved Indian Winter, beaten four lengths for it all, up to second. Mr Artistic M D was elevated to third.
A son of Pleasant Tap making his stakes debut, Beer Meister registered his first win since defeating a $20,000 maiden claiming field at first asking Dec. 31 at Turf Paradise. He paid $82.40, $20.80, and $6.40 across the board and keyed a $273.20 exacta with the heavy favorite, who returned $2.80 and $2.40. Mr Artistic M D was $2.80 to show.
Beer Meister was 22 lengths behind at the first call as The Great Caper took the lead over Arcadian and Indian Winter. Under pressure from his pace rivals, The Great Caper led the first-half mile while stepping swift fractions of :22.63 and :46.87 before Arcadian put his head in front at the three-quarter mark in 1:10.90.
The Great Caper fought back to take the advantage into the lane and led by two lengths at mid-stretch. Beer Meister, still fifth at that point after making a seven-wide bid, battled with the late-running Twice the Appeal, ridden by Jake Barton, before drawing off for victory. Twice the Appeal drifted in at the sixteenth pole, crowding Mr Artistic M D, who was also rallying late for jockey Scott Stevens.
Indian Winter, winner of the San Pedro Stakes for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer in his first start of the year Jan. 17, had a rough trip from his rail post under jockey Juan Rivera. Fractious in the gate, he broke outward and bumped at the start and raced rankly on the backstretch. Stuck three wide while pressing the pace, he drew close to the leaders on the final turn only to drop back and finish at a steady pace.
Twice the Appeal was followed in the official order by The Great Caper, Mighty Buck, Arcadian and Jamaican Memories. Doc Can Dance and Northern Indy scratched.
Bred in Kentucky by Elisabeth Alexander, Beer Meister has two wins and two seconds in four lifetime starts with earnings of $39,620. The dark bay/brown colt is out of Nanas Cozy Account, by Langfuhr.
