by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications
Delaware, OH — Cold Hearted Shark set the track and stakes record and equaled the world record for a freshman pacing colt on a half-mile track by winning the second of three $30,212 divisions of the Standardbred Stakes for 2-year-old male pacers in 1:52.4 on Thursday (September 22) at the Delaware County Fair.
USTA/Mark Hall photo
Cold Hearted Shark equaled the world record in the second of three divisions of the Standardbred Stakes for 2-year-old male pacers.
The victory gave driver Montrell Teague his second Standardbred Stakes win of the day.
Cold Hearted Shark, sent off as the 8-5 favorite, went straight to the lead from post seven and led through fractions of :27.2, :56.3 and 1:25.
Damon Blue Chip tried to challenge Cold Hearted Shark with a first-over move on the backstretch, but ended up finishing third. Blueridge Dancer was second.
Cold Hearted Shark, who paid $5.20, won for the second time in seven starts for trainer George Teague, Jr., who owns the colt with Fannin Racing, Robert Feldman and Teague Racing Partnership.
The previous stakes and track record for a 2-year-old was 1:53, which was set last year by Big Bad John, who is one of the favorites in this year’s Little Brown Jug. The world mark was set in 2010 by Mystic Desire in winning the Abe Lincoln at Maywood.
Whirl Monroe and driver Montrell Teague never trailed on their way to a 1:54.2 victory in the first of the three $30,212 divisions of the Standardbred Stakes for 2-year-old male pacers.
USTA/Mark Hall photo
Whirl Monroe never trailed in winning the first division.
Starting from post No. 1, Teague sent Whirl Monroe driving to the front in an opening quarter-mile of :28.2. The field remained single file until it neared the half-mile point, reached in :57.4, when Divulge moved to the outside to take aim at Whirl Monroe.
Divulge, however, went off stride as the field approached the final turn. The break forced Rockin Finish very wide, but the horse recovered to finish second behind Whirl Monroe. Bakin On The Beach was third.
Whirl Monroe, the 3-5 favorite, paid $3.20 to win. The Real Desire-Western Whirl colt has won two of four races for trainer George Teague, Jr., who owns the horse with Ted Gewertz.
Caviart Key won the third of the three $30,212 divisions of the Standardbred Stakes for 2-year-old male pacers in 1:54.2.
Handled by North America’s winningest driver, Dan Noble, Caviart Key was fourth in the early going as All Stienam and driver Ron Pierce led the field through an opening quarter-mile in :28.4.
Approaching the half-mile point, Noble moved Caviart Key to the outside and went at All Stienam as they reached the halfway point in :59. Caviart Key, still first over, got his head in front as they hit three-quarters in 1:27 and pulled away from the field from there.
Trained by Steve Carter, it was Caviart Key’s fifth win in 10 races. Carter owns the Ponder-Dee’s Shark gelding with Peggy Carter, Robert Reid and Chuck Grubbs.
Sent off at 6-5, Caviart Key paid $4.40 to win.