Lone Star Park: Frosted Grace closes to win Steve Sexton Mile

Never worse than second in five starts this year, 7-year-old Frosted Grace (9-2) pounced from mid-pack Monday night, taking the lead just before the sixteenth pole on the way to a 1 1/2-length win in the Grade 3, $400,000 Steve Sexton Mile at Lone Star Park.

Trained by Robertino Diodoro since a November claim by Flying P Stable, the horse sired by Mark Valeski was ridden to his ninth victory by Cristian Torres, who also had two other stakes wins on the holiday card. With his third triumph of 2023, Frosted Grace ran his career record to 40: 9-14-6 with earnings totaling $750,702.

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Torres kept Frosted Grace 3 1/4 lengths behind the early pace. By the time Touchuponastar (2-1) got to the lead on the backstretch, the eventual winner have moved up to fifth in the 10-horse field. Making a decisive, wide move on the second turn, Frosted Grace responded to right-handed urging by Torres and gradually gained ground all the way through the finish.

Touchuponastar held on for second, a head better than Kokokomo (52-1) with Sonneman (41-1) another 1 1/4 lengths up the track in fourth. Mine That Star (35-1), last year’s winner Silver Prospector (9-2), Allege (9-1), Logical Myth (44-1), post-time favorite Endorsed (8-5) and Holden the Lute (35-1) finished fifth through 10th in that order.

The winning time of 1:37.99 on the fast, main track was preceded by fractions of 23.13, 46.17 and 1:11.51. Frosted Grace paid $11.80, $6.60 and $4.60; Touchuponastar $5.00 and $3.80; and Kokokomo $6.00.

The win-place-show pool for the Steve Sexton Mile was $73,954, down 80 percent from last year’s handle of $370,918. Texas tracks have absorbed a precipitous drop in betting dollars in the nearly 11 months since the state’s racing commission opted out of the federal Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act. That decision cut off interstate betting on Texas races.