Fairplex: Half Dome Dude will be finishing

Half Dome Dude beat the odds twice already. Sunday at Fairplex Park, trainer Caesar Dominguez hopes he does it again on a card filled with short prices.

The pick-six sequence (races 6-11) Sunday at Fairplex includes four favorites at even money or less on the preliminary line, including C J Russell, an apparent standout in the $50,000 Jim Kostoff Stakes for 3-year-old sprinters.

Dominguez, however, concedes nothing in the Kostoff. He believes Half Dome Dude can improve switching from synthetic to a conventional dirt surface. “I think the dirt will help him,” Dominguez said. “It’s natural.”

What is not natural is accomplishing something owners Henry Dominguez and Kirk Robison achieved in just one race: recoup their entire investment in Half Dome Dude. Robison and Henry Dominguez, Caesar’s brother who trains horses at Zia Park, liked what they saw when Half Dome Dude made his debut Aug. 14 at Del Mar.