Table Mesa Keeps Rolling at Turf Paradise

Phoenix, AZ - March 12, 2011 - Dennis Weir’s homebred Table Mesa surged through the stretch to keep her consistent Turf Paradise campaign intact with a victory in the $25,000 Mesa Handicap on Saturday afternoon.

Regular jockey Scott Stevens rode the 6-year-old mare to the three-quarter-length win in 1:15.10 for the six-and-one-half furlongs.

The Sandi Gann-trained Table Mesa, who usually is close to the pace in longer two-turn races, dropped back to next to last in the field of eight sprinting fillies and mares. She then mounted her bid in the stretch to get up for her second-straight win. She has been on the board in each of her seven starts during the Turf Paradise season.

Tommy Hutton’s Trojan Victory, ridden by Daniel Vergara, made her move on the turn and grabbed the lead, but could not withstand Table Mesa’s late surge. She finished more than four lengths ahead of third-place finisher Catana Perez.

A daughter of Comic Strip, Table Mesa returned from a six-month layoff last fall and finished third in a Turf Paradise optional-claiming race as the favorite. That effort set her up for her stakes campaign, all against distaff company.

Table Mesa raced to a second-place finish in the 6-furlong Phoenix Stakes behind Trojan Victory and was then third in the 1-mile Kachina Handicap. Gann then placed her in the Glendale Handicap at one-and-one-eighth mile on the turf and she gave up the lead in the final strides to finish second as the 13-10 favorite.

She found a sloppy track to her liking in her start before the Mesa when romped to a 10-length win in the 1-mile Sun City Handicap.

Table Mesa has made 23 of her 30 career starts at Turf Paradise and has responded at the Phoenix track with six wins, six second-place efforts and four third-place runs.