Mr. Vegas wires Colonel Bradley

Andrew T and S Racing's Mr. Vegas continued his domination of the Fair Grounds turf on Saturday with a wire-to-wire score in the Grade 3, $97,000 Colonel E.R. Bradley Handicap. Under Miguel Mena, the chestnut set reasonable fractions of :24 1/5, :49 2/5 and 1:13 4/5, drifted out slightly into 8-1 chance Dubious Miss a sixteenth out, and held on to win by 1 1/2 lengths. A stewards' inquiry and jockey's objection against the winner was disallowed. Mr. Vegas returned $12.40, $6.40 and $4.40 as the 5-1 third choice after completing about 1 1/16 miles on good ground in 1:43 2/5.

"I saw it again and he did come out a touch, so I wasn't sure if it was enough to change the outcome," winning trainer Richie Scherer said after surviving a stewards' inquiry that lasted nearly 10 minutes. "He did come out a little bit. I'm glad the stewards saw it my way."

Dubious Miss made the most impact of those attempting to wear down the front runner, but was not gaining on Mr. Vegas strongly enough to warrant being elevated despite the minor infraction. He was a clear second by 2 1/4 lengths over Strike Impact, a 5-1 chance who had a half-length on even-money favorite Suntracer. Lonesome Street and Baltimore Bob completed the order of finish.

Glenwood Canyon and Heavenville were scratched from the Bradley. Glenwood Canyon instead ran in the Louisiana Handicap on dirt later in the card.

The five-year-old Mr. Vegas has been remarkably consistent since re-joining the Scherer stable last summer after a short stint with other outfits in New York. He's recorded three wins and three seconds in seven outings since August, with a dead-heat fourth in the Robert F. Carey Memorial at Hawthorne. He wad fifth in his only other stakes appearance, the 2010 Mohawk Stakes at Belmont Park.

Mr. Vegas is now perfect in three starts over the Fair Grounds turf this meet. He preceded this victory with back-to-back allowance wins on November 26 and December 31. Mr. Vegas' record now stands at 21-7-5-0, $260,331.

A New York-bred gelding by Freud, Mr. Vegas was produced by the unraced Lhotse, a daughter of The Minstrel. This extended family has produced the likes of Grade 3 winners Asher and Anne's Beauty.

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