After an extended wait in traffic while racing around the far turn, Dumbarton Farm's Easy Red angled out, charged between runners mid-stretch, and drove to victory in the $75,000 Jennings Handicap by a head at Laurel Park Saturday.Easy Red, sent off at 13-1 in the 1 1/8-mile event, carried jockey Steve Hamilton to the finish line in 1:54.90 on a fast track. He nipped favored Tartlet, who had taken command around the turn but could not hold off the winner. Tartlet dug back in when confronted by Easy Red and held onto second by 1 1/4 lengths. Due rallied widest of all to nose Off The Glass for third.The Jimmy Murphy-trained Easy Red paid $29.20, $10, and $6.40. He was the top half of a $113.80 exacta with Tartlet ($3.40, $3.20) and a $708.80 trifecta with Due ($4.60).
Easy Red has won four of 19 starts with four seconds and four thirds. Murphy tried the son of Charismatic four times on the grass this year without a victory. The Jennings, worth $45,000 to his connections, was the first stakes victory for Easy Red. (Chart, Equibase)
