(from Lone Star Park report)
Two-year-old gelding Be a Resident fought off several challengers and remained unbeaten in three starts with a 1 ¼-length victory over Holy Mission in the Staunch Avenger Division of the $125,000 Texas Stallion Stakes at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas on Saturday. Also, the maiden Wrenice validated her runner-up effort in the TTA Sales Futurity with a powerful 6 ¼-length triumph in the Pan Zareta Division for 2-year-old fillies.Both stakes events and four others helped comprise Lone Star Park's sixth annual Stars of Texas Day - a showcase of state-bred Thoroughbreds with stakes purses totaling $465,000. Also on the card:
-- Dreamsandvisions won the $75,000 Assault Stakes for older Texas-breds;
-- Shesabigcat wired older females in the $60,000 Allen Bogan Memorial Stakes;
-- Rain On Monday survived a steward's inquiry and gave leading trainer Steve Asmussen a 1-2-3 finish in the $40,000 Harold V. Goodman Memorial Stakes for 3-year-olds;
-- Open Meadows collected her second stakes win of the meet with a front-running score in the $40,000 Valor Farm Stakes against 3-year-old fillies. Be a Resident, who gave defending riding champ Cliff Berry his meet-best 88th trip to the winner's circle, ran 5 ½ furlongs in 1:03.92. He paid $5.20, $3.60, and $2.80 as the 8-5 favorite.It was Be a Resident's second straight stakes win for Dallas owners Wayne Saunders and Larry Hirsch and trainer Bret Calhoun. Previously, he won the $99,640 TTA Sales Futurity for colts and geldings June 10. The $75,000 winner's share of purse jumped the earnings of the Texas-bred son of Open Forum to $145,584.Runner-up Holy Mission returned $8 and $5.20. Mary's Gray Boy was another 1 ½ lengths behind in third and paid $3.40. Be a Resident's Staunch Avenger victory was Calhoun's second stakes win of the day. The 42-year-old Grand Prairie native also saddled Shesabigcat in the Bogan.In the Pan Zareta division, the speedy Wrenice led from gate to wire and ran 5 ½ furlongs under jockey Bobby Walker Jr. in 1:04.13. This was her first career win in four starts for owner/breeder Stewart Hamblem and trainer Randy Mayfield.Previously, she finished second to Asmussen's highly regarded Miss Mary Pat as a 37-1 outsider. On Saturday, she paid $8.20, $5.20, and $3.60. Stage Stop rallied for second and returned $13.20 and $7. Lady Be Tru, another half-length back in third, paid $3.20. Party of One, the 2-1 favorite, faded to ninth.The $75,000 purse boosted Wrenice's earnings to $103,346. Dreamsandvisions launched a late rally along the inside rail and cruised past pacesetter Senor Amigo to win Saturday's $75,000 Assault Stakes for older Texas-breds by 2 ¾ lengths.Dreamsandvisions, with Luis Quinonez in the saddle and carrying 118 pounds, covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.77 and paid $6.20, $3.20, and $2.40 as the 2-1 second betting choice in the field of seven. Premiere Stakes winner Senor Amigo returned $5.60 and $4. Two-time defending champ Goosey Moose was another 1 ½ lengths back in third and paid $3. Groovy Chief, the 9-5 favorite, was forwardly placed early but faded on the far turn to finish last.The win was the sixth in 16 lifetime starts for Dreamsandvisions and was worth $45,000, raising the career earnings for the gelded son of Kipling to $214,481 for Steven and Sandra Duke, the husband-wife owner and trainer who reside near the Texas/Arkansas/Louisiana border in Bloomberg, Texas.The Assault was Dreamsandvisions third career stakes triumph and first at Lone Star Park. (Chart, Equibase)
