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The Dragon Slays Rivals in Max Hempt



George Teague Jr. didn't get down on Custard The Dragon (Dragon Again) after the colt broke stride in last week's elims for the Max Hempt Memorial, was disqualified and placed ninth and barely made the final. He knew his horse was better than that and that a case or sore feet had led to the poor showing as the 9-5 favorite.



Last night, his was confidence was justified. Custard The Dragon roared back with a win in the $300,000 final, getting to the wire a half-length in front of Powerful Mist (Powerful Toy). Teague's son, Montrell, was the winning driver.



Nothing went right for Custard The Dragon last week as he broke near the finish and was placed ninth in the 10-horse field, in the process grabbing the last spot for the finals. Afterward, Teague's sister, Brenda, went to work on the colt's feet and worked some magic. He was a completely different horse last night.

 


"Last week he had sore feet,” Teague said. “He had a bar crack that we worked on. Brenda had him all week long in New Jersey and worked on him. The credit goes to her. I think he is a nice horse. Last week he was in a good spot before he broke. This was no surprise. This horse has a nice resume."

 


Leaving from the nine hole, Custard The Dragon quickly worked his way into second as Powerful Mist, driven by Joe Pavia Jr., took control through opening fractions of :26.4 and :55. With Prana (Dragon Again), Sharp West Hanover (Western Hanover) and Pan From Nantucket (No Pan Intended) all breaking, only three horses were in contention entering the far turn.

 


Powerful Mist led, with Custard The Dragon sitting the pocket and Movie Idol (I Am A Fool) chasing those two. In the stretch, Teague tipped Custard The Dragon to the outsode and the Dragon Again colt wore down Powerful Mist after a sustained drive.

 


"To win a race like this with Montrell driving, there's nothing that feels like that," Teague said. "It doubles the fun."

 


The win marked the third Hempt champion that George Teague Jr. has trained in the last four years. He also conditioned Badlands Nitro (Badlands Hanover) in 2008 and Johnny Z (The Panderosa) in 2009.

 


Custard The Dragon is owned by Theodore Gewertz, Robert Feldman, George Teague Jr., and Fannin Racing, and won for the second time from four starts in 2011 starts.

 


It was his fifth lifetime victory, and the winner's share of the hefty purse put his career earnings at $246,908.