After 30 career races including 11 tries in added-money events, Michael Dubb’s Florida-bred Escrow Kid picked up his first stakes win Saturday at Delaware Park in Wilmington, Del., taking the $60,000 New Castle Stakes against four foes at six furlongs.
Sent off as the odds-on choice at 3-5, Escrow Kid broke on top and never looked back, setting fractions of :22.38 for the first quarter-mile and :45.17 for the half while dueling with longshot and fellow Florida-bred Dinny Dinosaur. But as they turned for home, Escrow Kid and jockey Jeremy Rose quickly put three lengths on the field and held on down the stretch to eventually win by two lengths over Dinny Dinosaur in second and Out to Conquer You, a length and one-half back in third.
It was the second win in the last three races for Escrow Kid, who had won a $60,000 optional claiming race at Monmouth Park on July 1 before going to Saratoga to finish a competitive sixth, beaten just more than two lengths for the victory, in a similar optional claiming event on July 28. Trainer Anthony Dutrow then gave the 5-year-old gelding a 45-day rest which must have done the trick for the son of City Place and the Smart Strike mare Free Strike. The final time for the race was 1:09.98 over a track rated fast.
Escrow Kid paid $3.20 to those with $2 win tickets and $3.00 for those with similar place vouchers. He paid $2.10 to show. Dinny Dinosaur paid $8.40 and $4.00 while Out to Conquer You paid $4.20.
Escrow Kid, who was bred in Florida by Bathen Thoroughbreds of Orlando, now has seven wins from 31 career starts and earnings of $260,357. The victory was also a make-good race for Escrow Kid in the sense that he was fourth in the 2011 version of the New Castle behind winner Poseidons Warrior.
