Arizona Player John Doyle captures NHC

John Doyle, 49, of Scottsdale, Ariz., rallied in the last race to top a field of 301 to win the $500,000 prize and title of 2010 Handicapper of the Year at the 12th annual Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship at the Red Rock Resort late Saturday afternoon.

Doyle used Dapper Gene in the 10th race at Santa Anita, the last race of the 12th annual NHC, which had a record purse of $1.05 million purse, to bypass Ron Geary of Louisville, Ky. Dapper Gene paid $13.20 to win and $5.40 to place to give Doyle a final score of $234.80 from 30 contest plays over the two-day tournament.

“It was between the 7 [Wing Forward] and the 4 [Dapper Gene],” said Doyle, a Bronx native who made the finals through NHCqualify.com of how he approached the final race. “[Trainer Mike] Mitchell, [jockey Joe] Talamo, off the claim, and down the hill, I decided to go for it.”

Dapper Gene sat seventh after a half-mile of the 6 ½-furlong race and closed with a rush and beat Stoneside, who Geary had played, to win the claiming race with a $34,000 purse that was worth a lot more to the NHC contestants.