- Tommie Morelos / Coady Photography

Winter Camp wins $50,000 Bill Thomas Memorial Stakes at 23-1

Sunland Park, NM - March 12, 2011 - Winter Camp broke like a shot, set a furious pace, and held on gamely to win the Bill Thomas Memorial Stakes at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino on Saturday.

Under a daring ride from Agapito Delgagillo, the 23-1 long shot sped down the backstretch of the six and one-half furlong stakes race and opened up a 2 length lead. Despite ripping through fractions of 21.64 and 43.69 seconds for the first two calls, Winter Camp appeared to be rolling comfortably. The fleet son of Forest Camp still led by over length heading into the stretch.

Winter Camp fought valiantly through the stretch and held his rivals at bay. He had enough in reserve to fend off a fast closing Stephengothisstar by a head at the wire. The sharp front runner collected his second of the meet in a fast time of 1:15.04. The Jon Arnett trainee beat a stellar field which held career earnings of over $2 million.
A $2 win ticket on Winter Camp was worthy a hefty $49.60. He improved his overall record to 8 wins, 4 seconds and 1 third from 18 starts.

The former Southern California runner is owned by Jim Wood of Pacific West Stables. The frequent winner is approaching $200,000 in earnings.

10-time Stephengothisstar produced an energetic stretch and just missed in a photo finish. He and jockey Ramsey Zimmerman were closing at a fast rate but had to settle for second. The runner-up was let go at nearly 9-1 odds and completed a $1 exacta worth $218.80. Tactul finished well in third beaten less than one length. The
20-1 upstart rounded out a $1 trifecta worth a big $5,175.60.

Defending champion and Curribot Stakes winner Quiet Again made a menacing move at the quarter pole but failed to cut into the leader’s margin. He finished fourth.

Budweiser Stakes and Phoenix Gold Cup winner Wiredfortwotwenty raced as the strong 6-5 favorite and looked well placed down the backstretch. The sprinter never fired and finished well back in 7th place. He was fresh off a dynamic win against top flight sprinters at Turf Paradise last month.