by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications
Delaware, OH — Shake It Off Lindy led from start to finish to win Thursday’s (Sept. 21) $105,125 Old Oaken Bucket for 3-year-old male trotters in a lifetime-best 1:54 at the Delaware County Fairgrounds. Andy M was second and Moonshiner Hanover was third.
Scott Zeron drove Shake It Off Lindy for trainer Frank M. Antonacci and owner K R Breeding, which is Antonacci and his father Frank and uncle Gerald. It was the colt’s third consecutive win, all with Zeron in the sulky. Shake It Off Lindy’s time was two-fifths of a second off the stakes record of 1:53.3 set by Dennis in 2008.
“I’m 3-for-3 with him and I love sitting behind him,” Zeron said. “He’s very well-mannered and they’ve done a great job with him.”
Shake It Off Lindy started from post No. 1 and was quickest to the first turn, with Moonshiner Hanover dropping into second and Andy M following in third. Shake It Off Lindy led the field through fractions of :28.1 to the first quarter, :57.2 to the half, and 1:26 to three-quarters.
He won by 2-1/2 lengths as the 3-5 favorite and paid $3.40 to win.
“He’s always extremely fast off the gate, so I thought people would respect that,” Zeron said. “When you have a five-horse field you can control the tempo and that’s kind of what we did.”
Shake It Off Lindy is a homebred son of Crazed out of the mare Nashville Lindy. He has won three of 10 races this year and five of 19 in his career. His win in the Old Oaken Bucket, the first for Zeron and Antonacci, pushed his lifetime earnings to $204,104.
“This horse was right there with the top horses like International Moni all year,” added Zeron. “He was always trotting from the back though. Then they decided to take a few steps back with him and he has definitely improved.
“I never sat behind him prior to those two starts (in Pennsylvania) so I didn’t really know what to expect. After those races I was really excited to drive him in the Pa Sire Stakes (final) but he didn’t get in.
“He felt so good out there today and unfortunately he is not eligible to the (Kentucky) Futurity but they are going to try him in the Breeders Crown. I am very excited about driving him the rest of this fall.”
— Kim French also contributed to this report
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