Racing Roundup: Jans Luck edges Spring Break at the Meadows
March 19, 2009,from Harness Publicists across North America
Thursday’s (March 19) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from The Meadows, Dover Downs, Saratoga Raceway and Cal-Expo.
Jans Luck edges Spring Break at the Meadows
Meadow Lands, PA — Jans Luck let her archrival Spring Break do all the heavy lifting, then surged by in the “Lightning Lane” on Thursday at The Meadows to capture the $25,000 Filly & Mare Preferred Handicap Pace.
Spring Break rolled through the first three panels in 1:24.2, swift enough to thwart the first-over bid of Vysoke Tatry. But Jans Luck and Dave Palone, enjoying the pocket trip, brushed past late to score in 1:53. Spring Break was second by a head, with Chinatown K third.
To say that Jans Luck and Spring Break have dominated the top distaff pace at The Meadows would be something of an understatement. One or the other has won the event the last 13 times it has been staged; the score during that streak is Jans Luck-8, Spring Break-5. The last mare other than those two to win the Preferred Handicap was Vysoke Tatry, who turned the trick on Dec. 12, 2008.
Ron Burke trains Jans Luck, a 5-year-old daughter of Camluck-Jans Scooter, for Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, JJK Stables and M1 Stable.
Palone and Burke teamed for five winners on the 13-race card, including the fifth consecutive victory for JK Reunited, a 4-year-old pacing daughter of Bettor’s Delight-JK On Broadway.
— Evan Pattak
McFlirty captures Thursday feature at Dover
Dover, DE — McFlirty notched her first win of the year in the Thursday feature at Dover Downs.
Fotowon photo
McFlirty paced to a new lifetime mark of 1:55.2 in the Dover feature.
Trainer Bobby Reeser sent out his second winner of the day when Bonnie Benson’s McFlirty reduced her lifetime mark to 1:55.2 in a $10,500 Filly and Mare pace. Vic Kirby piloted the McArdle-Face The Table filly to extend her career record to three wins and a second in four lifetime starts. Beyond Perfection (Jason Lynch) finished second with White Diamonds (Roger Plante) the third-place finisher.
Corey Callahan posted one of his two winning drives by steering Blowout Hanover to his third consecutive success, scoring a 1:54.3 victory in a $15,000 claiming pace. Dean Richardson owns the Cam’s Card Shark-Beep Beep gelding. Kaiapoi Lil N (Jon Roberts) was runner-up. California Dream (Justin Hite) was the show horse.
Tony Morgan led all drivers with three wins, while Brandon Givens had a double. In addition to Bobby Reeser, Les Givens also had a training double.
— Marv Bachrad
Long wins five at Saratoga
Saratoga Springs, NY — Chris Long became the first driver this season to record five wins on one card at Saratoga.
Dave Oxford photo
Heavenly Hussy was one of Chris Long’s five winners on Thursday at Saratoga.
Long entered the night with six victories thus far in the young 2009 racing season and almost doubled that total with the big Thursday night.
One of the five victories on the night for Long was with the mare Heavenly Hussy in the night’s sixth race. Robyn Mangiardi trains the 10-year-old veteran mare who moved her seasonal record to two-for-two with a front running win on Thursday.
Last year, in his second full season driving at Saratoga, Long ended up sixth in the driver standings and with the help of a strong showing on Thursday, is off to a good start to the ’09 campaign.
— Mike Sardella
Crazy Cathy proves too tough at Cal-Expo
Sacramento, CA — Conditioned distaffers, racing for a purse of $4,000, were featured at Cal-Expo on Thursday night, in which Crazy Cathy was a winner.
Leaving for the lead from post two in the field of seven, Crazy Cathy would cause worry for driver/trainer Bruce Clarke when she’d have trouble clearing a stubborn Red Star Ruffles (Robley Johnson) for the front, despite a reasonable :29 opening quarter.
“I was concerned because I didn’t wind her up to leave because the last time Red Star Ruffles had the one hole she came away fifth and I got around her easy,” noted Clarke.
Not clearing to the front until the three-eighths pole, the lead for the 5-year-old surely had to be tough, or was it?
“My mare doesn’t try any more than she has to, so it wasn’t a tough lead, it just took me a while to get there.”
Reaching the half-mile pole, timed in :57.4, Clarke now had another reason to be worried.
“I was concerned at the half because every time I train her on the front end she pulls up. So I was a little concerned about what she was going to do when I had to cut it after Tawny Reserve (Gilbert Herrera) didn’t leave as I had hoped — where the plan would have been to follow her.”
Getting chased after some on the final turn to keep her mind to business, Crazy Cathy reached the three-quarter station in 1:27.2.
“I was now pretty confident at the three-quarters because she had gotten a helpful :29.3 third-quarter breather, plus I knew when she came off the turn that that’s when she usually kicks into gear.”
Drawing clear with 3-16ths of a mile to go and under wheel-disc and moderate urging for the final eighth of a mile, Crazy Cathy would hold safe to win ($3.20) by one length. Owned by Jack Coffey and Joseph and Lenny Getzler in partnership with Clarke, Crazy Cathy would stop the timer at 1:55.3. Dawnlikeslillies (Steve Wiseman) closed nicely to be second in an improved mile, and Charter Ridge (Luke Plano) finished another 1-3/4 lengths farther back in third.
“She raced good down the lane as she does every week. I can’t complain about how she races; she has been a very good claim,” finished Clarke.
— Scott Ehrlich