Although owners and trainers love to be blessed with a barnful of stakes and allowance runners, every so often a claimer comes along who endears itself to everybody in the barn in various ways, especially by making numerous visits to the winner’s circle and paying his or her own way.

    Ragatagtag, the 6-year-old daughter of First Dude who made 14 starts in 2021, is one of those who fills the bill. Claimed by owner Kenneth Sykes back on Oct. 16 at Remington Park, last night, at Sam Houston, she made her fourth start for Sykes, went off at odds of 3/5, and it was a sure bet he would lose her. The pink slip came, but not before she waltzed to a 3 1/2-length score under Iram Diego.

  Ragatagtag broke well and quickly engaged in a duel for the lead through a quarter in :23.68 with Diego having a stranglehold on her. When he let her out, Ragatagtag sprinted away from the field on the turn and kept widening down the lane. She won geared down in 1:12.83 for the six furlongs and raised her record to 8-11-2 in 33 starts. The winner’s share of $7,140 increased her career earnings to $160,421, not a bad haul for a mare who didn’t sell in her one visit to the sales ring.