The seven-year-old homebred Dot Matrix became a graded stakes winner last night for the first time when taking the G3 John B Connally Turf Cup at Sam Houston.

In a race that marked his first victory beyond 1 1/8 miles, the New York-bred son of Freud pressed the pace in the 1 1/2 mile event and eventually held off all comers to win by 3/4 of a length in the $200,000 event. The winner’s share of $114,000 pushed Dot Matrix over $600,000 in lifetime earnings.

This weekend also marked the opening of Ten Strike’s favorite track, Oaklawn Park and the three day opener did not go by without a Ten Strike Victory.

 

Recent claim Adheretome picked up Ten Strike’s first victory of the meet in the first race on Sunday, while fellow stablemates Something Natural (Race #7) and Mesange (Race #2) both picked up second place finishes yesterday as well.