Grand Prairie, Texas (May 26, 2008) - Robert Tjosvold's Church Service, trained by Mike Mitchell, produced a strong stretch rally to capture the Grade III $200,000 Dallas Turf Cup on Monday at Lone Star Park.

Ridden by Brice Blanc, Church Service bided his time at the back of the pack behind moderate opening fractions of :25.29, :50.91, and 1:15.04 before launching a wide run two furlongs from home. With time running out approaching the finish, Church Service dug in determinedly to catch the Bobby Frankel-trained Storm Military in the final jump. Church Service covered the one-mile-and-an-eighth distance in 1:50.54. Red Rock Creek rallied along the rail to finish one and a quarter lengths back in third.

"I've ridden him the past and it's his thing to come from out of it, and he finished up very strong today," said winning jockey Brince Blanc. "A horse like this with a strong turn of foot can overcome a slow early pace, and I was really confident that he could out kick them."

In winning the Dallas Turf Cup, Church Service earned his first graded stakes victory and recorded his fourth victory from 21 career starts. The $120,000 winners share of the purse increased Church Service's lifetime earnings to $310,060.

Church Service paid $7.60, $3.40, $3.20, runner-up Storm Military returned $2.80, $2.40, and Red Rock Creek paid $6.60 for show. Going Ballistic, Swains News, Eighteenthofmarch, Jazz Quest, and Scrappy Roo completed the order of finish.