Iron Fist provides plenty of punch in easy victory

On a Saturday night whentight finishes were the norm, Iron Fist produced the exception in Sam Houston Race Park’s $100,000 Maxxam Gold Cup.

Steve Asmussen-trained Iron Fist took command well before the homestretch and pulled offto an easy victory. The win was Asmussen’s third in the Maxxam.

Fear the Cowboy ran second, and Money Flows was third.

Iram Vargas Diego rode the winner to first prize of $60,000.

“My horse was running easily, so I let him go,” Diego said. “When Money Flows started to get a little closer, I hit my horse, and he took it to another gear,” winning by nearly three lengths.

Asked if Asmussen offered riding instructions, Diego said: “Mr. Asmussen leaves the riding up to you. I’m grateful that he put me on a horse like this one.”

The program included three other stakes races.

A $5,000 investment by Coloradan Barry Koch and two partners paid another dividend in the $50,000 Jersey Lilly Turf Stakes.

Their Stormquility held off charging Susie Bee to earn the $30,000 first prize, lifting the 6-year-old mare’s earnings to $203,000.

Koch and his family drove 13 hours from Colorado on Friday to watch the victory. It proved to be his second thrill of the week.

On Wednesday, doctors told him he would not need a final chemotherapy session for his cancer.

“So I asked, `What do I do, sit around home for a few days or drive to Houston to watch Stormquility race?’ The choice was easy.”

SaidjockeyCurtis Kimes: “I had to weave my way through, but we made it.”

Early leader Enchanteresse finished third behind the winner and Susie Bee.

Video homework helped jockey Colby Hernandez guide Partly Mocha to a narrow win in the $50,000 Bucharest Turf Sprint.

“In the video, you could see the horse didn’t like to run early,” said Hernandez, who drove to Sam Houston on Saturday from Lafayette, La.

“He likes to trail, then make one big move near the finish.”

The 8-year-old gelding nearly waited too long for that move.

Predictably slow from the starting gate, Partly Mocha trailed three horses by open space midway through the 5½-furlong dash.

“Then he made the big move he had shown me in the video,” Hernandez said.

The Hernandez welltimed close got Partly Mocha to the finish line a head in front. The Michael Maker-trained horse has now earned $445,000 in 36 lifetime starts.

Taco prevailed in the Texas Heritage Stakes.