Oak Grove, KY — Fresh from his victory on debut at Harrah’s Hoosier Park, Tyler Butenschoen trainee San Patricio tightened his screws against older competition at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel on Tuesday (June 2) with a powerful rally over the top to win the $17,000 featured trot going away in a 1:54.1 mile.
Driver Joey Putnam floated San Patricio away sixth while Prince Of Honor (driven by Brandon Bates) contested with Youngblood (Archie Buford) for the lead to a :27.2 first quarter. Prince Of Honor cleared control but soon faced a challenge from 8-5 favorite International Law (Atlee Bender) brushing first-over approaching a :55.3 half, and International Law eventually cleared to the lead moving through the second turn. International Law slowed the tempo up the backstretch, at which point Putnam sent San Patricio from the backfield with a three-wide charge to three-quarters in 1:25.2. San Patricio smoothly slid to the lead spinning for home and scooted away for a 2-3/4-length win over International Law while Burningforyourlove (Stéphane Guelpa) closed from last for third and Prince Of Honor settled for fourth.
A gelding by Swan For All-Kaikoura, San Patricio won his seventh race from 10 starts and has now earned $138,900 for owners Tony Holmes, Michael Holmes, June Zent and Timothy Thornton. He paid $7.32 to win.
Live racing at Oak Grove resumes on Monday (June 8). First-race post time is 1:10 p.m. (CDT). For more information, visit oakgrovegaming.com.