by Kimberly Rinker, managing editor, Hoof Beats

Northfield, OH — It all came down to a showdown between the two favorites in the final yards of the $125,000 Battle of Lake Erie at Northfield Park on Saturday night, April 21, but Maltese Artist proved the toughest and the fastest, pacing to a new pari-mutuel track and world record of 1:49.4.

Trained by Mickey Burke and piloted by Brett Miller, the 6-year-old son of Artiscape became the first horse to win two editions of the “War of the Shore” in non-consecutive efforts.

Owned by Sylvia Burke, John Howard and James Koran, the victory also gave driver Miller his first sub-1:50 win that came, appropriately, in the 50th anniversary season of the half-mile oval. It also pushed Maltese Artist’s seasonal earnings to $199,675 and upped his career bankroll to $1,063,711.

“This horse was so awesome tonight,” Miller said. “He has so much gate speed and just so much raw speed overall. The Burkes had him razor sharp for tonight’s event.”

My Boy David (Ryan Anderson), Maltese Artist (Brett Miller) and Gold Dust Beach (David Miller) all left hard for the gate, but it was Maltese Artist who led the field at the :26.1 first quarter. The Joe Holloway-trained Gold Dust Beach immediately came after the leader and took control of the race to a :53.4 half. Going into the third turn, My Boy David made a mild bid on the outside, but quickly faded, while positions remained unchanged to a 1:22.1 third-quarter. Miller pulled Maltese Artist out once more and the bay gelding responded with a charge that put him head-to-head with the leader in a matter of strides in the last turn.

The two favorites battled neck and neck down the stretch, but Maltese Artist proved hardy and prevailed by a head over Gold Dust Beach. Our Lucky Killean (Peter Wrenn) got up for third.

“I think we’ve finally got this horse figured out,” trainer Ron Burke said. “He’s battled sicknesses for so long, but when he’s healthy, he’s going to give you 100 percent. He’s now the horse that we’ve always thought he could be, and it’s just a question of health with him.”

“This horse is a very nice horse,” trainer Joe Holloway said of Gold Dust Beach. “He’s nice, but Jenna (his sire, Jenna’s Beach Boy) was great. I’ve only had him seven starts now but he does very well on a half-mile track and raced giant here tonight.”

“It was nice to beat David (cousin/driver Miller) in here, but his horse raced very well too,” Brett Miller said. “He’s always giving me a tough time, but in the spirit of fun between us. These are two very nice horses (Gold Dust Beach and Maltese Artist).

Maltese Artist became just the third horse to win the Battle of Lake Erie twice, behind Peruvian Hanover (2002 and 2003) and Jaguar Spur (1988 and 1989). A multiple world champion, Maltese Artist was the richest horse in the “Battle” and paced the fastest mile ever on a five-eighths-mile track in 2005 when he won at Dover Downs in 1:48.3.

Rounding out the field was Dodgeball (Aaron Merriman) in fourth, Mister Big (Greg Grismore) in fifth, My Boy David (Ryan Anderson) in sixth, Ataboyart (Ryan Stahl) in seventh and Load The Dice (Yannick Gingras) in eighth.

To view a replay of the Battle of Lake Erie, click on the following link.