by Daina Kazmaier, Rosecroft Publicity Office

FT. WASHINGTON, MD – Maryland Sire Stakes finals for freshman and sophomore trotters and pacers were held on Saturday evening at Rosecroft Raceway during the “Showcase of Champions” event, and several exhilarating races highlighted the card.

Bill Graham Photo

Danish Dancer came out on top by a neck, winning a $43,000 final for 2-year-old filly trotters.

In a two-horse dash to the wire, Danish Dancer [$7.40, $2.20, $2.10] came out on top by a neck, winning a $43,000 final for 2-year-old filly trotters. The Tejano offspring, co-owned by Richard Roberts, James Harris, Perry D’Ortone and trainer Jeff Long, sat behind betting choice Ornellix (Victory Kirby) through the mile. Driver John Wagner rated Danish Dancer well through fractions of 29.0, 1:01.3 and 1:32.0, stopping the timer in 2:01.3 – a new lifetime mark for the filly. Ornellix [$2.10, $2.10], a daughter of Tejano as well, held on for second. Gary Cameron II trains the filly for owner Russell Williams. Third in the $52.80 trifecta was Jane B [$4.00], a Tejano filly driven by Gary Messenger. Lloyd Gilmour trains for owner Scott Woogen.

Indeman [$7.00, $3.40, $2.40] scored a pocket trip in the $43,000 division for 2-year-old filly pacers, winning in 1:56.3 with Jim Morand in the bike. The Masterman filly, racing for the Callahan connections, took a seat behind frontrunner Warden Woodie (John Wagner) through quarters of 27.4, 57.3 and 1:26.2. At the top of the stretch, Indeman kicked into another gear to win by a length. Warden Woodie [$2.20, $2.10] was strong for second; the Allie’s Western filly, owned by Frederick Kessell and trained by Manley Brown Jr., closed well with a 30.2 last quarter. Misdori [$2.80] crossed under the wire third with Art Stafford Jr. at her lines. The Misfit filly is trained by Ben Stafford and races for the Potkin Stables.

Bill Graham Photo

Mr Crazy showed up his rivals in the $43,000 mile for 2-year-old colt and gelding trotters with Sam Belote at his lines.

Mr Crazy [$3.60, $2.10, $2.10] showed up his rivals in the $43,000 mile for 2-year-old colt and gelding trotters with Sam Belote at his lines. The son of Tejano, trained by Bill Long for owner Crawford Rayne, has been finishing second to Descant in the preliminary races. However, this week driver Belote took advantage of the passing lane after sitting behind Descant (John Wagner) through quarters timed in 30.1, 1:02.3 and 1:32.4. Mr Crazy won by half of a length in 2:02.1. Descant [$3.00, $2.20], a Tejano colt, was second for owners Terry Kibler and Marvin Sigler. Trained by Manley Brown Jr., Descant has had a very successful stakes season to date, hitting the board five of seven starts. Erio Hanover [$4.80] finished third with trainer Joe Offutt in the sulky. The Tejano colt, owned by Genevieve Louk, sat third along the rail through the mile at 48-1 odds. After breaking stride on the gate, Concertino (Kelly Staten) recovered to finish fourth in the $72.90 superfecta.

Grace Of Hearts [$44.80, $7.40, $5.60] scored at 21-1 odds in the $43,000 division for 3-year-old pacing fillies. Owned, trained and driven by Kelly Staten, the Allie’s Western filly stuck her nose out at the wire to win in a new lifetime best of 1:55.4. Grabbing the early lead, High Speed Racer [$2.80, $2.60] set the pace through quarters of 28.0, 56.4 and 1:26.1 with John Wagner in the bike. The daughter of Nuclear High, owned by Tom Cooke, finished a head behind Grace Of Hearts in an exciting mile. Roger Hans trains High Speed Racer. Leimatua [$8.60] closed out the $110.00 trifecta with Billy Mann in the bike. The Shotgun Scott filly is trained by Ken Shand for owner Shirley Shand.

The division for sophomore trotting fillies was hardly a contest, as Dilly Dally Delia [$2.20, $2.10, $2.10] went gate-to-wire for the purse of $43,000. The daughter of Go Get Lost, driven by Victor Kirby for trainer John Wilkerson, led the pack through well-rated fractions of 28.4, 59.1 and 1:28.4 to win by over five lengths in 1:59.2. Benjamin Brooks owns the winner of nearly $60,000 lifetime. Et And Al, driven by Jonathan Roberts, was second after making up ground in the stretch. George Bartlett trains and co-owns the Go Get Lost filly with Alvin Mindel. Go Get Blanche [$5.00] finished third with trainer Dan Myer at her lines. The Go Get Lost filly, owned by the BDMCK Stable and James McGinnis, rounded out the $113.00 triple.

Bill Graham Photo

Kursk was tops in the $43,000 race for 3-year-old colt and gelding trotters.

Kursk [$9.20, $2.80, $2.20] was tops in the $43,000 race for 3-year-old colt and gelding trotters, making a quarter-pole move for the lead after an opening tick of 29.4. Driven aggressively by Frank Milby, the Go Get Lost gelding took the field through remaining quarters of 1:02.0 and 1:32.1, winning in 2:02.2. Ken Shand trains the gelding for owner Shirley Shand. Go Get Jacqui [$2.10, $2.10] sat in the pocket for second with John Wagner in the bike. Trained by Syl King Jr., the Go Get Lost gelding finished three-quarters of a length off of the winner. King Jr. co-owns the gelding with Joseph Benedetti and Rosalind Silletto. Driven by Donnie Russell, Montabello Jake [$2.10, $2.20] finished third.

Freshman colt and gelding pacers were shown who was boss by Boss Outlaw [$3.00, $2.20, $2.10]; the JK Outlaw colt won by over seven lengths in 1:54.1. Driven by Victor Kirby, the colt sat second through the majority of the mile in 27.0, 55.4 and 1:24.2. Kirby asked Boss Outlaw for more in the stretch and he responded, drawing away for his fifth win of the year. Jim Coughlin owns and trains the talented pacer. Higher Mark [$3.20, $2.20] closed for second along the rail with Jonathan Roberts at his lines. The Nuclear High colt, trained by Roger Hans and owned by Tom Cooke, raced as part of an owner-entry with Best Cross (John Wagner) who finished fifth. After cutting the mile, Quick Thinker [$2.60] finished third. The Glowing Tribute colt, co-owned by Nanticoke Racing Inc. and driver Jim Morand, left the gate hard from post seven and finished just over eight lengths off of the winner.

Southern Myles [$2.80, $2.10, $2.10] extended his win streak to four in the $45,750 division for 3-year-old colt and gelding pacers. The Nuclear High colt paced wire-to-wire in 28.1, 57.4 and 1:26.1, winning by over two lengths in 1:53.2. Jonathan Roberts drove for trainer Richard Hans, and Gerald Kelly owns the winner of nearly $200,000 lifetime. Mental Lapse [$2.20, $2.10] finished second with Victor Kirby in the sulky, while Talbot Redneck [$2.40] was third with Wayne Long in the bike. Mental Lapse, a Shotgun Scott gelding, sat in the pocket through the mile. Shaun Callahan trains for owners Henry Faragalli, Arthur Feeney, Anthony Clark and Tom Jackson. Talbot Redneck, a very consistent performer, is co-owned by David Donahue and trainer Ken Schlotzhauer.

MOUNTAIN AIR EQUALS TRACK RECORD

Racing for new connections, Mountain Air [$8.60, $4.40, $2.40] proved he is on the upswing in a $10,000 Open pace at Rosecroft Raceway on Saturday, equaling the track record for 3-year-old geldings with a win in 1:51.2.

Driven by Corey Callahan for trainer Shaun Callahan, the sophomore son of Badlands Hanover sat last through opening quarters of 27.0 and 55.4. Callahan pulled out second-over to pass the three-quarter pole in 1:23.1, and drew away in the stretch by over three lengths. Mountain Air is co-owned by Nick and J P Callahan. The gelding has been competing in various levels of the Open pace at Rosecroft over the past month, and has shown improvement with each try.

Shimmering Joseph first set the record for three-year-old pacing geldings on July 7, 2001 with Eddie Dennis in the sulky.

Rosecroft Raceway will be dark for the month of October, and is scheduled to reopen on November 3, 2007.