Lhasa Muscles triumphs

Lhasa Muscles commanded the lead at the half and drew off to a 1:53.3 victory in the $45,840 Father Foley Memorial Sunday afternoon at the Meadowlands. Lhasa Muscles posted a 1 1/2-length victory over Dunkster.

Driven by Cat Manzi and trained by Ross Croghan, Lhasa Muscles [$5.60, $3.40, $3.20] posted his sixth win of the season. War Paint completed the trifecta.

"Lhasa Muscles and Dink Adoo [the 4-5 favorite] seemed almost the same to me, except I had the rail," Manzi said. "The race set up pretty good for me. It wasn't over 'til it was over, but he felt good. It was a tricky claim, but Ross did a great job with him."

Let It Ride Stables and Stake Your Claim Stable claimed Lhasa Muscles for $75,000 on Feb. 10. Since moving into Croghan's barn, the 5-year-old gelding has four wins, two seconds and three thirds from nine starts. His career bankroll is now $287,207.

"This horse was in for a tag one night last year and I thought about claiming him then, but there was a 4-year-old allowance on him [a claiming price slightly higher than that of the older horses in the same field] and I couldn't talk anybody into it," Croghan said. "This year he cost a bit more, but he was an easy sell." (Meadowlands press release)

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