Fort Washinton, MD – Frederick Weitz Jr.’s Better Gon kept his undefeated record intact with a lifetime-best 1:54.1 win in the Wayne Smullin Memorial, for 2-year-old male pacers, one of four $95,000 Maryland Sire Stakes fall series championship events held Monday (Oct. 6) at Rosecroft Raceway.
Russell Foster put Better Gon in play from race’s outset, and the pair sprinted clear of Dapperfly (driven by Charles Perry Jr.) to control a :27.1 first quarter. After rebuffing a challenge from Inca Social (Roger Plante Jr.) with a lap to go and forcing that rival into the pocket, Better Gon rated middle splits of :56 and 1:25.1 before drawing 3-1/2 lengths clear of Inca Social at the winning post. Dapperfly finished third.
Adrian Wisher Jr. trains Better Gon, a More The Better N-Graygon gelding who has won all seven of his races to date and earned $128,912, for Frederick Weitz Jr. As the prohibitive 1-9 favorite, Better Gon paid $2.20 to win.
Better Gon capped a Maryland Sire Stakes hat trick for Foster, who also took the Tom Cooke Memorial, for rookie trotting fillies, with Progressivekathy; and the Charles Keller Memorial, for freshman male trotters, with Y’all Got No Shot.
Progressivekathy benefitted mightily from an early break in stride by And Just Like That (Johnathan Ahle) and, after rating soft middle splits, had plenty of energy in reserve to evade that rival by 4-1/4 lengths to win the Cooke in 1:59.1.
The daughter of Il Mago-Progressive Caviar coasted unopposed through splits of :29.1, 1:00.1 and 1:30.1 as And Just Like That overcame a 20-length deficit to overtake failing pocket rival Casino Star for second on the far turn. Progressivekathy accelerated away from the field off the home turn to score her maiden-breaking victory and elevate her career earnings to $67,500 for owner/breeder Scott Woogen and trainer Ron Millman after finishing second four times in her six previous starts.
In the Keller, Y’all Got No Shot stalked from third early while Flyin Wizard (Plante) drilled a :26.4 quarter to clear 1-5 choice Booger Bear (Ahle). Foster then activated Y’all Got No Shot up the backstretch, and the Yall Beneath Me-Ginger Hanover colt pushed clear of Flyin Wizard at the eighth pole and evaded stablemate and runner-up Booger Bear to win by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:57. Flyin Wizard finished third.
Y’all Got No Shot, who paid $10.60 to win, has won three of seven races and earned $93,425 while competing as a homebred for owner/trainer Richard Hans.
That’sloveto rounded out the quartet of Sire Stakes winners, reaching in the final yards of a 1:55.1 mile to just edge pacesetter Miss Val’s Way in the Ralph Hayward Memorial, for 2-year-old pacing fillies.
The Dapper Dude-I Cant Stoplovinu filly strode to a clear lead from post four in line to Ahle through a :27 first quarter before yielding to a middle move from Miss Val’s Way (Jonathan Roberts) through a :56.2 half. After drafting from the pocket up the backstretch and through the far turn, That’sloveto emerged again in the final yards to upend Miss Val’s Way by a head. I’m Feeling Spicy (Eric Davis) finished third.
Dominik Miga owns, trains and bred That’sloveto, who has won four of six races, earned $69,750, and paid $5.60 to win.
Live harness racing returns to Rosecroft on Thursday (Oct. 9); first post is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. (EDT).