Bourne in Nixa Splashes Home to Upset Victory in $125,000 Gazebo Stakes

Hot Springs, AR – Robert and Lawana Low’s Bourne in Nixa pulled off a major upset in the $125,000 Gazebo Stakes as he passed tiring pacesetters Mitole and Direct Dial to win the race impressively under jockey Ramon Vazquez.

Bourne in Nixa sat well off the contested pace early on while heavy favorite Mitole, who stumbled at the start, and his stablemate Direct Dial dueled through early factions for :22.06 and :46.22 for the first half mile. The Asmussen duo began to tire on the lead, and Bourne in Nixa took advantage with a four wide move in the stretch. The 3 year old More Than Ready colt burst to the lead in mid stretch, and won going away by a length and three quarters.

“We ran him in the Delta race, I don’t know, he really didn’t like the two turns and it’s a funny track,” trainer Steve Margolis. “But, I’ve really been kind of looking to run him. At Fair Grounds, there’s nothing for him. We really liked how the horse was doing. I talked to Robert (Low) we said, ‘Let’s nominate him and see how this race comes up.’ We realized (Steve) Asmussen certainly had the horse to beat. I really like this colt. His numbers were a little lower than some of these other ones, but he trains good. I knew definitely he would handle the mud, so it worked out good. He got a speed duel and Ramon kind of swung him outside. He ran a big race.”

The win improved Bourne in Nixa to three wins from five starts, and he has now earned $132,930. The race was a nice bounce back effort after a disappointing start at Delta Downs.

Jockey Roman Vazquez kept it simple when describing the race, and how it unfolded:

“I knew there was a lot of speed in the race. I wanted to take my horse back and just make one run, and he finished.”

Bourne in Nixa paid $14.60 to win, $4.60 to place, and $2.40 to show. Mitole returned $2.20 to place, and $2.10 to show. Direct Dial paid $2.20 to show.

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