FAIRPLEX : A Nose Is Plenty for Elegant Bargain

Last year, Elegant Bargain took an early lead and won the Pomona Invitational Handicap by one length. On Sunday, as the 6-year-old horse tried to become the third multiple winner of the stake, it was considerably closer, but when the photo-finish picture at Fairplex Park was developed, there was Elegant Bargain’s nose on the wire just ahead of Due To The King’s.

With his late charge, Elegant Bargain became the sixth repeat winner of the Pomona. Four horses had won the stake twice and He’s A Saros won it three consecutive times starting in 1987.

Elegant Bargain, owned by Luciano Martinez, trained by Bruce Jackson and ridden by Gary Stevens, won for the eighth time in 40 starts and turned the tables on Due To The King, who had beaten him by one length in the shorter Phil D. Shepherd Stakes at Fairplex two weeks ago. Sunday’s distance was about 1 1/8 miles, which Elegant Bargain covered in 1:51 3/5, the slowest time since the race went back to its current distance in 1985.

Elegant Bargain paid $8.20 to win as the second betting choice, earning $82,500 of the $150,000 purse and sending his earnings over the $390,000 mark.

Due To The King finished 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Cool Gold Mood and Real Cash, the 5-2 favorite, wound up fourth.

Jackson won’t say what he paid for Elegant Bargain, “but it wasn’t much. I saw him in a field when he was an unraced 2-year-old and just liked the way he looked. He’s always liked this track. He trained on it well when he was a young horse. I’m the stupid one, I keep thinking the horse can run on the grass.”

Elegant Bargain has won only one of 15 starts on the turf.