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Sam Houston Race Park / X

Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen trained his record-extending sixth winner in the Grade 3, $300,000 Houston Ladies Classic for older fillies and
mares. He did it Saturday at Sam Houston Race Park with his least expected candidate for victory.

Recharge, a 4-year-old whose previous best placing in a
graded stakes was fifth, dueled Hoosier Philly (4-1) for most of the race
before wearing out the more seasoned 5-year-old in a 42-1 upset. It was the fourth consecutive Houston Ladies Classic win for Asmussen and the first
for jockey Ben Curtis, a 35-year-old native of Ireland.

Click here for Sam Houston entries and results.

A Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred daughter of Gun Runner, Recharge
held off a late rally by odds-on favorite Alpine Princess (3-5) to win by a
neck. Her time was 1:45.53 for the 1 1/16 miles on the fast main track after
she established pedestrian early splits of 24.89, 49.22, 1:13.20 and 1:38.66.

Hoosier Philly, a 5-year-old who would have become a
millionaire had she won, settled for third, 3 1/4 lengths better than fourth-place
Free Like a Girl (14-1). Our Pretty Woman (7-2), also trained by Asmussen, came in fifth. Our Davina (34-1), Asmussen trainee Flashy Lass (10-1) and Kara
(66-1) finished sixth through eighth in that order. Miss Code West was
scratched.

Recharge, a Kentucky-bred out of Tapit mare Remit, started
her career with a three-race winning streak punctuated by last year’s Sunland
Park Oaks. After a distant fifth in the Fantasy (G2) at Oaklawn and a
last-place finish in the Black-Eyed Susan (G2) at Pimlico, she went on a 6
1/2-month break that ended with an allowance victory Dec. 4 at Remington
Park. She paired that with another win in allowance company Jan. 3 covering a
mile and 70 yards at Sam Houston.

With the $174,600 of first-place money Saturday, Recharge
upped her purse career earnings to $436,188 from a record of 8: 6-0-0.