(Chart, Equibase)
Crowned King, ridden by Chandra R. Rennie, overcame all sorts of trouble to take Monday's $200,000 USA Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 mile on the turf at Lone Star Park.The son of Barkerville, at odds of 11-1, got home a neck ahead of 41-1 shot Iceanwater. Kool Humor was third. The final time was 1:51 2/5.Lone Star Deputy, slightly favored at 7-2, was 10th in the field of 11.Crowned King bumped with Iceanwater at the start but recovered while making up ground on the inside. With a half-mile to run, the bay colt took up and was shuffled back on the final turn. He re-rallied entering the stretch, angling out sharply at the eighth pole and outhustled pacesetting Kool Humor and Iceanwater to the wire.Kool Humor led through slight fractions of :24 4/5, :51 1/5 and 1:17 4/5.The victory, worth $120,000 to owner McKeever Racing Stable and trainer Billy C. McKeever Jr., was Crowned King's fourth in 13 career starts and pushed his career earnings to nearly $300,000. At 36-1, Crowned King won the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park march 22, but was subsequently fifth in the Arkansas Derby (gr. II) and fourth in the Lone Star Derby (gr. III).Crowned King paid $25.60, $14.20 and $9.40. Iceanwater returned $29.40 and $10.20. Kool Humor's show price was $5.60. The $2 exacta was worth $1,207.80.