Racing Roundup: Tuesday, January 13, 2009
January 14, 2009,from Harness Publicists across North America
Tuesday’s (January 13) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Dover Downs, The Meadows, Pompano Park, Yonkers Raceway, Northfield Park, and Monticello Raceway.
Apache Dame scalps eight in Mares Open at Dover
Dover, DE — Apache Dame, after being idle for nearly a year, won her third consecutive $27,000 Mares Open on Tuesday at Dover Downs.
Fotowon photo
Apache Dame posted her third straight win in the Dover feature.
In the featured race, Apache Dame (Ross Wolfenden) took the lead from Ladyfield (Tony Morgan) early and after shaking off a prolonged challenge from Pacific Philly (Eddie Davis, Jr.) along the backstretch asserted herself in the stretch to score a 1:52.3 victory. Pacific Philly held on for second. Faithfully (Vince Copeland) was third.
Sidelined after she finished out of the money in early January 2007, Apache Dame was bred and produced a Badlands Hanover filly. She looked so good after foaling that owners Paul McDougall and WJ McDougall Racing and trainer Peter Tritton decided to put the Apaches Fame-Amerissa mare back in training. It didn’t take her long to return to feature race condition.
Odds of 22-1 and post eight did not phase Cantwell Bridge Stable’s Lockes Of Love from turning back eight rivals in a 1:53.3 mile in the $23,000 Mares Jr. Open Handicap. Ross Wolfenden drove the Blissfull Hall-Pocket Comb mare into the lead after the half and sped away from Delightful Diva (Morgan). Cruzin Foralivin N (Mike Cole) was the show horse.
Flirtwithedealer got up in the closing strides to beat Rafaella Seelster (Vic Kirby) and Dannie In Diamonds (Morgan) in a blanket finish in the $18,000 mares pace. Corey Callahan drove the Cam’s Card Shark-Capri Lobell 7-year-old for trainer Trevor Stafford and owners Tom Harrington and Ron Killen.
— Marv Bachrad
Threepeat for Primo Spur at The Meadows
Meadow Lands, PA — Primo Spur shrugged off a demanding first quarter and a sloppy racing surface Tuesday at The Meadows to capture the $25,000 Preferred Trot, his third straight victory in the track’s top trot.
Michaelrowyourboat parked Primo Spur to the quarter in :28, but the 5-year-old gelded son of Pegasus Spur-T Tars Shadowmio was so dominating that he put the field away with a :28.4 third panel. He scored in 1:56.1, 1-1/4 lengths better than Michaelrowyourboat, who has been second to Primo Spur in each of the latter’s three recent wins. Prism K was a ground-saving third.
Dick Stillings drove and trains Primo Spur, who has won 23 of 60 career starts, for Roy Davis.
Dave Palone drove six winners on the 13-race card.
— Evan Pattak
Esmeralda Semalu wins $16,000 Pompano feature
Pompano Beach, FL — Trainer-driver Joe Pavia, Jr. piloted Esmeralda Semalu to the winner’s circle to capture the $16,000 Fillies and Mares Open Pace at the Isle Pompano Park on Tuesday.
Lap Time Photo – Skip Smith
Esmeralda Semalu and trainer/driver Joe Pavia, Jr. captured the Fillies and Mares Open Pace in 1:53.
Biggest Big Bertha and Anthony Napolitano got the first call as the field of six paced over to the first quarter in :26.4, with Chapsboots N Spurs (Wally Hennessey) sitting on the outside battling for the lead.
Chapsboots N Spurs took over the lead in front of the grandstand and hit the half-mile marker in :57. As they paced down the backstretch Golden Falcon N (David Ingraham) took over a short lead as they passed the three-quarters in 1:24.3. Esmeralda Semalu then swung three-wide and took the field home to win in 1:53 by 5-1/4 lengths.
The 5-year-old Electric Stena mare now has a lifetime bankroll of $194,166 and 12 lifetime wins in 34 starts for owners BJR Stables, Inc. and AGC Stables, Inc. of Florida.
— Debbie Schaut
Pantaleano wins four at Yonkers
Yonkers, NY — Driver Jim Pantaleano earned Yonkers Raceway Tuesday night accolades, winning four races from just seven drives on the 13-race card.
Pantaleano was placed first with longshot S J’s Reel Girl ($37.40) in the $6,000 second race trot, then aired with the favorite Notorious Buck ($4.40) in the $8,000 eighth race trot for that one’s third consecutive victory.
Pantaleano then went back-to-back, winning with Claire’s Flyboy ($12.60) in the $8,000 10th race pace and Powerball N ($7.80) in the $8,000 11th race pace.
Stephane Bouchard won twice, as did Anthony Coletta, while another newbie, Rick Magee, picked off the $7,500 pacing finale with 20-1 Count Monte Cristo ($43.80) in a three-horse, blanket photo. It was Magee’s first local victory.
— Frank Drucker
Wandering Dream means green for Green
Northfield, OH — The 62-1 trotter Wandering Dream ($127.20) took Tuesday’s fifth race at Northfield Park in line to trainer-owner John Green, kicking off a $415.60 exacta and $3,372.80 trifecta.
More importantly, the longshot winner meant nobody solved the Pick 5 for the second straight night, meaning Wednesday’s Pick 5 carryover will be over $6,156.
Wandering Dream bottomed out the mix of $3,000 claimers and non-winners of $200 per start (fillies and mares) with a 1:00.4 opening lap in frigid conditions with sub-zero windchills, before eventually winning in 2:05.1 for Green.
Matt Kakaley won five races on the card, while three-time defending driving champ Aaron Merriman posted a triple and Russ Swartz doubled. Kakaley currently leads Merriman in the local driver standings, 26-24, in what promises to be a good battle all year.
— Keith Gisser
Southbound Trucker keeps on trucking
Monticello, NY — Southbound Trucker is amazing. The 6-year-old Sharky Spur pacing gelding, owned by George Stamatien and trained by his brother Aristotle, again copped the Mighty M pacing on January 13.
For Southbound Trucker, it marked the pacer’s second consecutive victory in 2009 against the best pacers on the grounds and his sixth in his last nine starts. Last year Southbound Trucker won nine times and the year before six, but most incredible is the fact that the horse has been continually racing year-round since 2006 for a total of 124 consecutive races without hardly ever missing a week of competition.
On January 13, Bruce Aldrich, Jr. sent Southbound Trucker to the lead and they got away with a slow — for his class — half of :59.4, but then the veteran pacer kicked in a :29.2 third stanza and finished with a :28.3 final panel with Aldrich swinging on him at the finish as the timer flashed 1:57.4. Second place went to The Grand Poppa and driver Jimmy Marohn while Greg Merton guided Rappermun home third best.
When asked why Southbound Trucker is so good at this time, especially since he had so many consecutive races, Aldrich quipped, “I really have no idea but he’s just awesome!
“He’s a mature racehorse, sort of an iron horse who takes good care of himself. He never gets in high gear until the three-quarter pole and when he does he just runs away from them (the rest of the field). His trainer, Art, is 78 years old and it’s really great to see a little guy have a good horse.”
And speaking of amazing, how about Mike Forte? The veteran reinsman is on fire thus far during this fledgling season and leads the solid driving colony with 14 wins already.
Four of those victories came on the January 13 card. Forte first scored with Horsemen’s Financial Agency and Premier Racing Stables’ Twin B Lonestar in 1:59.4 in race number one and his next triumph was behind James and Frank Russillo’s Windy Bay David (2:03) in the fourth race.
Forte’s next trip to the winner’s circle came in the 11th race when he reined Scott Petillo’s Camsation to a 2:01.3 triumph and then he finished his day with a 1:58.4 victory with Brett Smith’s Wild Artist.
Last Thursday Forte had the first five-bagger of his career and now the 49-year-old has a career total of 2,490 driving victories.
— John Manzi