Red Route One is favored in Saturday’s Cornhusker Handicap

Red Route One has been installed as the 5-2 morning favorite for the Grade 3, $300,000 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap on Saturday at the Altoona, Iowa, track. The 1 1/8-mile race drew a field of 11 and is scheduled for the ninth of 11 races at 10:37 p.m. EDT.

Click here for Prairie Meadows entries and results.

Red Route One will be seeking his second victory of the year and first since winning the New Orleans Classic (G2) at Fair Gounds in March. He followed that winning effort with a third in the Oaklawn Handicap (G2) and was most recently fourth in the Pimlico Special (G3).

“He’s another incredible homebred of Winchell Thoroughbreds,” trainer Steve Asmussen said following the New Orleans Classic. “He’s campaigned a lot, traveled a lot. When given the opportunity he will show up.”

Hit Show, the 3-1 second choice, will be seeking to give trainer Brad Cox his third Cornhusker victory in five years. Hit Show was among the top 3-year-olds last year after finishing fifth in the Kentucky Derby and fourth in the Belmont Stakes, but went to the sidelines following a sixth in the Oklahoma Derby (G3) last September. He will be making his second start of the year after winning an allowance race at Churchill Downs on May 11.

The local hopes will be with Ain’t Life Grand, who holds seven wins at Prairie Meadows and was third in the Cornhusker last year.

Heroic Move enters the race off his first career graded stakes score in the Steve Sexton Mile Stakes (G3) at Lone Star Park on May 27. The well-traveled Trademark will be looking for his win since the Clark Handicap (G2) last November at Churchill after three disappointing efforts this year, including a fourth last out in the Blame Stakes (G3) at Churchill on June 1.