Racing Roundup: Pilgrims Toner takes Invitational Pace at Meadowlands
April 3, 2010,from Harness Publicists across North America
Saturday’s (April 3) Racing Roundup features results stories from Meadowlands Racetrack, Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, Hoosier Park, Pompano Park, Dover Downs, Saratoga Gaming and Raceway and Cal-Expo. Pilgrims Toner takes Invitational Pace at Meadowlands East Rutherford, NJ — Pilgrims Toner extended his winning streak to four races in the $32,000 Invitational Pace on Saturday night at Meadowlands Racetrack. Lisa photo Pilgrims Toner lowered his mark to 1:49. With Yannick Gingras at the lines, Pilgrims Toner sat a pocket trip behind Western Shore, angled out approaching the far turn and drew off to a 2-1/2 length margin in a career best 1:49 clocking. Letsgetitstarted and Mr Hallwell were second and third, respectively. Pilgrimas Toner was sent off the 3-5 favorite in the betting and returned a $3 win mutuel. Frank Catalfamo, who owns a taxicab company in Highland Park, N.J., claimed the 6-year-old son of The Panderosa for $50,000 on February 20 at the Meadowlands. The pacer has earned $56,900 in five starts for the trainer and partners Joe Spezio, Robert Mills and Pat Daley. — Amy Silver Mystery Chase does it again at Pocono Wilkes-Barre, PA — The $28,000 Open Handicap Pace at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs once again found Jim Morrill, Jr. in the winner’s circle with Mystery Chase. Last week it was Mystery Chase, a 5-year-old Real Artist stallion trained by Donnie Russell, closing fast to win by a nose over Western Bay and Matt Kakaley. The second time around it was Mystery Chase getting a solid trip in the pocket down the backside and edging Western Bay and Kakaley by three-quarters of a length. Longshot Mighty Young Joe (Stacy Chiodo) finished third, two lengths back. “I was a little concerned going down the backside because I didn’t know if George (Napolitano Jr.) would carry us,” said Morrill in the winner’s circle. “Everything opened up at the top of the lane and I took to the passing lane. This is a special horse and Donnie Russell is a good horseman.” Mystery Chase has now won five of 12 starts this season with three second-place finishes and $94,000-plus in earnings. The stallion earned $217,000-plus last year. — John Zimich Svendsen and Johnson capture both features at Hoosier Park Anderson, IN — Hoosier Park Racing & Casino has a new ruler among the trotting ranks. Claudius Augustus and Lemoyne “Mooney” Svendsen proved supreme again with their second straight win in the co-featured $23,000 Invitational Trot. Linscott Photography Claudius Augustus was a 1:56.1 winner on Saturday at Hoosier Park. Heading out of the turn, Claudius Augustus was asked for one final move, and that was to head to the finish line. The 6-year-old Angus Hall horse hit another top gear and strolled home for the win in a time of 1:56.1, three lengths ahead of Blowlowsanta. NF Soaring and Rick Farrington were well placed for the final strides home to finish third. Out of the great race mare Claude’s Last Lady, who won her share of races around Hoosier Park’s oval, Claudius Augustus now has 20 career wins in 39 career starts. Earnings of more than $220,000 have accumulated for owner Debbie Budahn. He is part of the strong Bobby Johnson barn, which is stabled at Hoosier Park for the first time in 2010 with 11 horses and more on the way from their headquarters in California. “Anything I needed to do tonight, I was able to do with this horse,” said Svendsen. “This is a push button horse, and I had to use about four buttons tonight during the race. He made a lot of different moves. He makes me look good.” Johnson and Svendsen also took top honors in the top pace with Keystone Eli. The 7-year-old son of Shady Character captured the $23,000 Invitational Pace. Halfway through the stretch, the inside was his for the taking, and Keystone Eli began to advance with every stride despite a broken inside head pole. Rocket Fuel had emerged as the new leader in the center of the track for Dan Shetler. Robin I Scoot and Trace Tetrick had found a lane on the outside and were also advancing past rivals. In the end, Keystone Eli got the last call at the finish line by only a half-length over Robin I Scoot. Rocket Fuel was also only a half-length back for third. “It wasn’t really a surprise to win with him (Keystone Eli) tonight,” said Svendsen. “He’s an old racehorse that is always there to win. He raced well last week, too. He was first over and still paced home in :27.1. You can’t ask much more than that.” Owned by Hei Mitchell, Keystone Eli now has four wins in eight starts for 2010. A total of more than $218,000 has been accumulated by the veteran, who scored the win in a time of 1:52.1. — Tammy Knox Form holds true in top Pompano classes Pompano Beach, FL — The horses laying claim to the fastest wins on each gait of the 2009-2010 meet at the Isle Casino Racing Pompano Park, Cammabis and Baseball Express, held their strong form for repeat wins on the first Saturday evening program of April. “In the 45 starts I’ve had Cammabis he’s never ceased to amaze me after his big wins,” trainer Paul Holzman said after his stable leader scored in 1:51.3 in the $15,000 Open Handicap Pace. “I’m especially happy for his owner, Fred Reitberger of Boca Raton, a great supporter of our game for so many years. Cammabis is quite unique because he never trains and never wears a harness through the week between starts.” Kevin Wallis had Cammabis settled in fourth position as Wally Hennessey sent Four Starz Bling to the first quarter lead in :26.2, and then Cammabis was on the attack to seize the lead before the half in :54. Card Dealer, in rein to Bruce Ranger, made the first over move to the last turn in 1:22.3. Cammabis drew off in the stretch as Cape Karuna, in rein to Fern Paquet, Jr. brushed from last to get the nod in the place photo over Four Starz Bling. “I’ll soon be shipping Cammabis back to Michigan and we’ll look for some races there and in Ontario,” Holzman said. “We might have to try him in Toronto but I’m not sure yet if he could become a 1:49 or 1:50 horse which he’d likely have to be in the warm weather months up there.” Cammabis, a 7-year-old Cambest-Majestic Lady gelding, has won half of his 12 starts in Florida this year and his career bankroll now tops $286,000. Lap Time Photo – Skip Smith Baseball Express held off #4 Alarming Quck and #5 Talk About Me in the $15,000 Open Handicap Trot. The $15,000 Open Handicap Trot had a much more dramatic finish as Baseball Express was pushed to the limit to become a doubling up winner in 1:54.3. “I did have to give him some help at the end and I wasn’t completely certain I’d won,” driver Tom Sells said in his live trackside post race TV interview. “He insisted on racing from the front again and all credit to him for holding on, but I think I’d have to weigh 450 pounds to be able to race him out of a hole if I tried make him follow other horses,” he said of Baseball Express, now a career winner of over $105,000. The 6-year-old Conway Hall-Pine Booth gelding is trained by Mike Deters for Ohio owner Kevin Burch. The winner seized the lead in :27.1 and sailed through the middle stages of :56.2 and 1:25.1. In the last three eighths of the mile, David Ingraham rallied the mare Alarming Quick out of third for a first over bid all the way to the end. The pocket-sitter, Talk About Me with Kevin Wallis in tow, finished third. — Frank Salive Aerobic Linda, Sweet Bobbie Ann score at Dover Dover, DE — A pair of $16,000 events shared the Saturday feature roles at Dover Downs. Aerobic Linda scored a 1:57.3 win in the trot while Sweet Bobbie Ann had just enough to win the distaff pace in 1:55.1. The females excelled in the top trot as Graham Grace Stable’s Aerobic Linda, a daughter of Dream Vacation-Aerobics, driven by Jon Roberts romped to a 1:57.3 victory in a $16,000 trot and the other two females in the eight-horse race, Bristy Crinkley (Brandon Givens) and Stargazer Lily (Vic Kirby) finished second and third, respectively. John Myers’ Sweet Bobbie Ann completed a training double for Bobby Myers. The win was the second in a row and third of the year for the Dragon Again-Rapid Jenna 5-year-old. Real Shark (Vince Copeland) finished second, ending a three-race win streak. Fussy’s Bad (Roberts) was the third place finisher. — Marv Bachrad Fun Time is a winner in Spring Claimer Pacing Series final Saratoga Springs, NY — The Spring Claimer Pacing Series reached its conclusion on Saturday night at Saratoga Gaming and Raceway and would see the early speed set the table for the longshots. Macho Uno (Chris Long), the odds-on favorite in the $12,300 final, made his way to the front end, overcoming post eight to get to the top. The fractions proved too demanding for Macho Uno, who was looking for the sweep after easy wins in all three legs of the claiming series, as the favorite was parked to the quarter in :27.4 and down to the half in :56.3. Fun Time (Jim Devaux) took advantage and sat patiently as the front end speed started to falter and cruised by in the stretch while drawing away to a nearly three length win, stopping the timer in 1:56.4. Fun Time, the only two-time winner in the series other than Macho Uno, went off at 5-1 while registering a seasonal best win time. LA Rock (Billy Dobson) was second best while Just Sit N Wait (Barry Segel) earned the show spot. Macho Uno faded to a fourth place finish. — Mike Sardella Sacramento, CA — Open handicap pacers, racing for a purse of $6,100, were in the Saturday night spotlight at Cal-Expo, in which Frankyluvsmeatbals won for the 21st time in his career. Frankyluvsmeatbals paced smartly through a :27.3 third quarter and was leading by 2-3/4 lengths at the three-quarter station, timed in 1:24.4. Bearing out two-wide at the head of the lane, but now leading by three lengths, driver/trainer Rick Plano had an answer as to why his pacer drifted out. “I think he just wasn’t paying attention because he didn’t hear anybody.” Now leading by four lengths at the seven-eighths marker, Plano made sure his charge remained focused. “I urged him once at the sixteenth pole to keep his attention and he coasted in the stretch like I thought.” Owned by Maryann Plano, Frankyluvsmeatbals won ($3.40) in a no doubter by 3-3/4 lengths in 1:53.2. An unused Machine Maker (Steve Wiseman) rallied nicely to pick up the pieces for the place honors, and Leave It To Sam finished another three lengths farther back in third. “It was a good race for him and hopefully they use this race next week,” concluded Plano. For the veteran, the driving triumph was one of five scores on the night, giving him nine over the last two cards. Plano’s son, Luke, recorded four driving wins on the card, also giving him nine victories over the Friday and Saturday cards. — Scott Ehrlich
