Prairie Meadows will feature the $45,000-added Grade 3 Covered Bridges Stakes on Sunday's race card.

© Jack Coady Photography

By Louanne Wainscott/Stallionesearch

ATLOONA, IA–AUGUST 27, 2025–Sunday evening at Prairie Meadows will feature the $45,000-added Grade 3 Covered Bridges Stakes, showcasing some of the best hook horses in the country. The 870-yard contest, slated as Race 3 on the card, is scheduled for approximately 4:50 p.m. and has drawn a competitive field of eight talented runners.

Installed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite, Cash Back Hero will break from post seven. The four-year-old gelding showed promise late in his three-year-old campaign, finishing first and second in his only two hook attempts, earning triple-digit speed indices. Sunday’s distance may be exactly what he has been waiting for to deliver a standout performance at the stakes level.

Cash Back Hero is by Valiant Hero out of Pops Zoomin Fury (by Furyofthewind). He was bred in Oklahoma by Flag Ranch, LLC, races for Becky and Warren Johnson, is conditioned by Edward Ross Hardy, and will be guided by Angel O. Ramirez.
Trainer Stacy Charette-Hill enters a pair of top-level competitors, including Into the Lite (4-1) from post three and P Fifty One, the 3-1 second choice, from post six.

P Fifty One has been a model of consistency, never missing the board since beginning his hook racing career. The four-year-old gelding is by Into Mischief (TB) ($250,000) out of Dashn Dame (by First Down Dash). He was bred and is owned by Andrea G. Lamatta and will be ridden by Gonzalo Gutierrez as he looks to extend his strong record.

Adding depth to the field is We Call Him Joneson (6-1), the race’s highest money earner. The eight-year-old veteran, shipping in from Oklahoma, will start from post two under Cordarelton J. Benn. He is by Furrtreeous out of Chics Legacy (by Gold Medal Jess), bred and owned by Michael L. Gavin and trained by Gary K. Walker.

With a blend of proven veterans and rising stars, the Grade 3 Covered Bridges Stakes promises an exciting battle to the wire. Eight starters will break from the gate, gather momentum around the turn, and surge down the stretch for a share of the $45,000 purse and stakes glory.

The Prairie Meadows Races can be watched on Q-Racing Video.

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