Digger Is a Lonely Winner at Laurel Park

Blazingly fast 3-year-old Digger returned to the winner's circle at Laurel Park yesterday, but it looked more like a ghost town.

Owner Lawrence Roman, who runs a construction services company, not only didn't make the trip from New York, he didn't send his project manager, Darryl Thomas, to represent him. Thomas represented Roman when Digger won the Deputed Testamony Stakes in September, but after the gelding's easy victory in the $50,000 Northern Dancer yesterday, only jockey Horacio Karamanos was around for the trophy presentation.

Digger's trainer, Richard Dutrow, was suspended for 14 days and fined $5,000 last week for falsifying the workout of a stakes horse named Wild Desert and then lying about it to investigators, according to an Oct. 31 story in the Daily Racing Form.

Dutrow asked Laurel-based trainer Dove Houghton to saddle Digger for the Northern Dancer. The dominant speed horse in the field of five Maryland-bred 3-year-olds, Digger easily made the front under Karamanos, relaxed coming off the first turn when jockey Malcolm Franklin declined to contest the pace aboard Gammy's a Winner, and sailed home 3 1/4 lengths in front of the rallying P V Lightening. Third-place finisher Silent Assassin was a distant 21 lengths back.

Digger tested deeper waters in the Grade II Jerome Handicap at Belmont Park after his victory in the Deputed Testamony and faded to sixth after setting a torrid pace. The Northern Dancer proved a far easier assignment. With Karamanos keeping his mind on business with a few periodic cracks of the whip, Digger won the 1 1/8 -mile dirt race in 1 minute 50.81 seconds.

"He wanted to stop a little bit in the last part because he's a lazy horse," said Karamanos, who is now 2 for 2 on Digger. "I saw somebody coming. I didn't want to take my chances so I hit him a couple times. This horse likes to play. He tried to jump in the shadows a couple times."

A rising star in the Maryland training ranks, Houghton formerly worked as an assistant to Dutrow's brother, Anthony Dutrow, who now is based in Pennsylvania.

"Rick called me the same as he always does when he sends a horse down and says, 'Handle it,' " Houghton said. "When Rick calls, we keep it short and sweet. We didn't talk about" the suspension.

Racing Note: In pursuit of his 6,000th career victory, jockey Mario Pino had one win yesterday at Delaware Park. He remains two wins shy of the milestone, however, as a winner he rode last month was disqualified in a Delaware Park steward's ruling for a drug positive. Pino, 46, is scheduled to ride four horses today on the closing day at Delaware and has three mounts scheduled when racing resumes Wednesday at Laurel Park.