James Wolf's Dollarization sat off dueling grade 3 winners Jaxon Traveler and Wondrwherecraigis and came with a powerful run through the stretch to spring a three-length upset at odds of 18-1 the $100,000 Lite the Fuse Stakes Sept. 16 at Pimlico Race Course.
He is the first black-type stakes winner for his late sire, Last Gunfighter.
Trained by Tim Kreiser, Dollarization ($39.60) had run second in each of his last three starts, including a 6 1/2-furlong allowance Aug. 27 at Timonium.
Jaxon Traveler broke sharply and went to the front in Saturday's race, with Wondrwherecraigis pressing to his outside. Jockey Angel Rodriguez settled Dollarization in third along the rail.
Rodriguez maintained his position before tipping out to the middle of the track for a stretch run that saw him reel in two horses that have combined for 14 wins, eight in stakes, and more than $1.1 million in purse earnings. The winning time was 1:11.32 over a fast main track.
Sir Alfred James made a late run to be second, 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Stage Left.
Last Gunfighter, a son of First Samurai, won nine of 21 starts and more than $1.2 million, scoring four times at the graded level. He retired from racing in 2015 and went to stud at Dr. Willam J. Solomon's Pin Oak Lane Farm in New Freedom, Pa. He died in 2018.
