The highlight of the fall season in Maryland is the $250,000 Frank J. DeFrancis Memorial Dash (G1). A crowd of 11,807 was on hand at Laurel Park for this 6 furlong sprint for older horses. The two-horse IEAH Stables entry of Benny the Bull and Holly Time was sent off as the 6-5 co-favorites in the 8-horse field. Benny the Bull was fourth in the Breeders' Cup Sprint and second in the Forego, and had not won since the Iowa Sprint at Prairie Meadows in late June. Breeders' Cup Sprint third place finisher Talent Search was the 9-5 second choice over Miraculous Miss at 6-1, the only filly in the race, second in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint last time out.
Talent Search was quickest out of the gate and opened up a 2 length lead down the backstretch through fractions of 22.64 and 45.72. High Finance and Holly Time stalked him just off the pace, while Benny the Bull was unhurried back in sixth. Turning for home, Talent Search stubbornly held the lad but Benny the Bull was just hitting his best stride. Benny the Bull went 4 wide on the turn and closed with a rush, passing Talent Search with 1/16 of a mile to go and drew away to a 1 1/4 length victory in 1:09.86 over the fast track. It was another 2 1/2 lengths back from Talent Search to late-closing Miraculous Miss in third.
Results chart
Winning owner Mike Iavarone of IEAH Stable said, "He might not have liked the track (in the Breeders’ Cup). I saw him range up and by the 1/8 pole I said we were in good shape here."
Co-owner Gregg James added, "I was the original owner prior to syndicating him. My daughter Erika named him after a cartoon character on Dora the Explorer."
Winning jockey Edgar Prado said, "Sometimes I have to ride him very hard, but today I didn’t. He did it all on his own. I encouraged my horse but I didn’t really beat him up. I saved something for the end."
Ryan Fogelsonger aboard runner-up and pacesetter Talent Search said, "Talent Search had his ears pricked and turning for home I tapped him on the shoulder and he had two more gears. For a horse to come by us like that is incredible. Galloping out I asked Edgar how he went by me like that because I was rolling. It is amazing a horse could come by us. Talent Search had a great campaign and we have nothing to complain about." Trainer Mark Shuman added, "He came out of the Breeders’ Cup Sprint great so I thought he would run well today. He broke real sharp out of the gate today and tried his best. He’s such a good horse. He tries every time. Unfortunately he just got caught at the end."
Mario Pino aboard third place finisher Miraculous Miss said, "She ran a huge. I told Stevie 'how did she get beat by fillies the way she was kicking?' She really ran a terrific race against the boys." Trainer Steve Klesaris added, "She ran really well today. The winner ran a superb race. Talent Search showed up and gave his all. I knew this field was pretty deep coming in but she had trained excellent up to the race and she came running. She shows up every time. Today we were just third best."
