Lone Star Park: Komorebino Omoide draws away in Sexton Mile

In his sixth try in a graded stakes, 5-year-old Komorebino Omoide broke through in the slop Monday to win by 2 1/4 lengths in the Grade 3, $400,000 Steve Sexton Mile for 3-year-olds and up at Lone Star Park.

Racing in the middle of the 10-horse pack after an off-balance start, Komorebino Omoide (9-5) tucked in from the three path in the second turn to find room along the homestretch rail. Under right-handed urging from jockey Ramón Vázquez, the post-time favorite rallied past fading pacesetter Touchuponastar (9-5) and This Is Uscar (11-1) and opened his lead from the three-sixteenths pole to the finish.

Click here for Lone Star Park entries and results.

This Is Uscar finished second, a neck better than Heroic Move (5-1). Creative Minister (23-1), Touchuponastar, Number One Dude (65-1), Blue Devil (33-1), U. S. Army (58-1), The Wine Steward (5-1) and Frankie’s Empire (31-1) completed the finish in that order. Run Classic was scratched.

The winning time was 1:38.29 after early splits of 24.04, 47.52, 1:12.56 and 1:25.30. Komorebino Omoide paid $5.60, $3.60 and $3.40; This Is Uscar $6.60 and $5.20; and Heroic Move $5.80.

Komorebino Omoide is trained by Robertino Diodoro and owned by his breeder Perry Martin, who also co-owned sire California Chrome during a successful 2014 Kentucky Derby campaign. Bred in Japan out of Trippi mare Decennial, Komorebino Omoide won by 11 lengths in the April 26 Gus Fonner Stakes at Fonner Park.

With Monday’s victory in Texas’s richest Thoroughbred race, Komorebino Omoide ran his record to 18: 6-3-4. With the $222,000 first-place money, his purse earnings reached $653,816.