Ministry dusts field after turn

HOT SPRINGS — Starfish Stable owner Linda Robbins escorted Ministry, her entrant in Saturday’s Rainbow Miss Stakes, from the barns to the paddock 20 minutes before the $100,000, 6-furlong race for 3-year-old Arkansas-bred fillies.

A large portion of the crowd — estimated at 19,500 — was gathered at the apron near the entryway to the paddock. A man leaned over the rail as Robbins and Ministry passed by.

“Hey Linda,” he said. “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” Robbins said. “We’ll need it.”

They didn’t need much. Ministry, at 2-1, romped away from five others under rider Thomas Pompell to a 6¾-length victory in 1:10.44 at Oaklawn Park. Superstar Bea was second, 2¼ lengths in front of third-place Ms. Fifty First St. Dixie Flyer finished fourth.

“You always need luck in a horse race,” Robbins said. “I thought she was the best horse, but things happen. Mostly, you just want to avoid bad luck.”

Ms. Fifty First St. played the part of a 7/5 favorite at the start. She fired from the gate to a 1½-length lead in the first 100 yards and led the field through an opening quarter-mile in 22.33. Ministry, racing from the first gate, was troubled early when Pompell could not find adequate room for her between Superstar Bea and the rail. He had no choice but to back up and go around the others.

“Tommy is a good rider,” Robbins said. “People told us he was a speed rider, but he’s not. He can do anything. He’s a very talented man.”

Pompell, in his first full season at Oaklawn, has won four riding titles, including two at Hoosier Park in Indiana. A native of St. Louis, he also won a title at nearby Fairmount Park.

“It got a little tight on the rail, and I was a little concerned that we might get too far back,” Pompell said. “But by the time we got her back in it, I still had a lot of horse.”

Up front, Ms. Fifty First St. did not have an easy lead for long, as Numancia pulled within a half-length within the first furlong. She would stay there through midturn as the remainder of the field closed the gap.

Ms. Fifty First St. held the lead through a half-mile in 45.90, but Ministry surged from her early disadvantage and charged to the lead as she turned for home.

“Once she gave me that spurt, I knew it was all over,” Pompell said.

Superstar Bea passed Ms. Fifty First St. with 150 yards to go.

“She ran very well,” Ms. Fifty First St. jockey Geovanni Franco said. “She put her heart out there. We just got outrun by those two.”