Chicken Dance Captures $100,000 Not Surprising Stakes

The love affair between breeder Tom McCrocklin and Neolithic has carried over into stakes company, with red-hot Chicken Dance taking the $100,000, 1 1/16-mile Not Surprising over the Gulfstream Park Tapeta course. The 3-year-old gelding captured his only start at two, and is now 4-0-1 in six starts this year, including winning three of his last four.

New riding sensation Diego Herrera was aboard Chicken Dance, who was off slowly and was third from last down the backstretch. Herrera sent him up to join in the hunt but the gelding was blocked on the turn. He used the rail to move up to second, then beat 6/5 Bolero Bay to the wire by 1 1/4 lengths, clocked in 1:42.66. He paid $15.60 and earned a check for $55,700, increasing his total to $164,250.