L Diz sparkles at Batavia Downs

Batavia, NY — It wasn’t a stakes race. It wasn’t even the feature race but 3-year-old filly pacer L Diz opened some eyes at Batavia Downs Monday night, winning the fifth race in a sizzling 1:54.2.

It was the fourth fastest mile ever for a 3-year-old pacing filly at Batavia Downs. The all-time track mark is 1:52.4 set by New Album in 2011.

L Diz has been racing in the New York Sires Stakes and Excelsior Series for the most part this season but found the $5,800 winners of four but not more than eight to her liking.

With Shawn Gray in the sulky, L Diz ($2.70) cut fractions of :27.2, :56.3 and 1:25.1 in the 1:54.2 mile. It was good enough to hold off the challenge of runner-up Two Step Turn who was a half-length back at the wire.

L Diz is owned by Ted Cupp and trained by Jim Graham, who had a training double. It was the fourth win of the season for L Diz and moved her seasonal winnings to more than $36,000.

Gray, Batavia’s leading driver with 10 wins during the opening week of the Summer-Fall meet, was also on fire with five wins on the night. Kevin Cummings and Dave McNeight III produced a double as well. Bobbi Jo Martin had a training double along with Graham.

In the feature, Cashmandu ($8.00) sat seventh but tipped three-wide down the backstretch and took the $6,000 pace in 1:55.4 for Kevin Cummings. Cashmandu is trained by James Compton and owned by Sandy and James Compton.

— Brian Mazurek

Plainridge Racecourse
Three of the top drivers at Plainridge fared well in Monday’s nine-race card. Steve Nason grabbed the spotlight with three wins, while top driver Jim Hardy and veteran Ralph Andersen had two wins each. Nason, who trails Hardy by a dozen wins in the driver standings, was victorious with Party To A Crime (1:54.1) in the third, Let Me Dream (1:57.3) in the fifth, and Artillery Officer (1:54.1) in the eighth. Andersen had winning drives with Fitness And Fury (1:57.4) in the opener and Yuma (1:54.3) in the sixth race. Hardy’s two wins came with Elm Grove Ella (1:55) in the fourth race and Off The Table (1:56.4) in the seventh.