Crazy Wow wins Colonial as Pinkman makes misstep
August 22, 2015,by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications
Wilkes-Barre, PA — Hambletonian champion Pinkman went off stride at the start, opening the door for his eight rivals in Saturday’s (Aug. 22) $500,000 Colonial for 3-year-old male trotters, and Crazy Wow was the one to take advantage.
Crazy Wow, who was not eligible to the Hambletonian, won the Colonial by 1-1/4 lengths over The Bank in 1:52.3 at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. Uncle Lasse finished third and Wicker Hanover was fourth. Crazy Wow, sent off at odds of 9-1, was the third choice in the betting behind 1-5 favorite Pinkman and Uncle Lasse.
The Bank and Uncle Lasse are from the stable of trainer Jimmy Takter, as is Pinkman.
Uncle Lasse took the early lead and remained on top through fractions of :26.3, :55.1, and 1:23.3. Canepa Hanover made a first-over bid, but was unable to pass Uncle Lasse. Crazy Wow, who enjoyed a trip following the leader, took charge in the stretch and pulled away to victory.
“I wanted to follow Pinkman, but it didn’t work out that way,” said Tim Tetrick, who drove Crazy Wow for trainer Ron Burke. “He made a break and I got a perfect trip out of it. I sat the two hole and my horse responded well.
“He felt good. He’s a big strong horse and he’s great to drive. He works at it, he’s got a great attitude, and he likes to win.”
Crazy Wow has won five of nine races this year and earned $542,537. For his career, the son of Crazed-No Pan No Gain has won 10 of 20 starts and banked $775,465. He is owned by Our Horse Cents Stables, JT45, J&T Silva Stables, and Deo Volente Farms.
“It’s a big win,” Burke said. “He’s a good horse that I think can go with them all the time when he gets the chances. In the big races, I think he will acquit himself well. He’ll have some more chances to race against these.”
Crazy Wow’s future schedule includes the Canadian Trotting Classic in September at Mohawk.
Yannick Gingras, who drove Pinkman, was unsure why the gelding went off stride. Pinkman, the winner of 14 of 18 lifetime races, had never made a break in a pari-mutuel race in his career and wound up last in the nine-horse field.
“I don’t know,” Gingras said. “I was just taking him to the gate and he made a break.”
Colonial Consolations
If you backed Centurion ATM in the $200,000 Consolation I and saw driver Ake Svanstedt pull his horse out of the two-hole nearing the three-quarters to battle favored Whom Shall I Fear, you had to be encouraged, for Svanstedt is one of the best sulksyitters in the world.
Centurion ATM went right to the lead and strode off to a 1-3/4 length win in 1:53.3, a tick off of his lifetime record.
Svanstedt, whose world champion Sebastian K was retired to stud during special on-track ceremonies earlier in the card, is also the trainer of Centurion ATM, a son of SJ’s Caviar, who is owned by Courant A B and Knutsson Trotting Inc. (Sebastian K’s sponsors).
Muscle Diamond, second in the Breeders Crown at the end of last year but slow to find top form this season, may have turned a corner in the $100,000 Consolation II, coming from second-over to win a five-horse across-the-track finish in 1:53.2, equaling his lifetime mark while defeating Cruzado Dela Noche by three-quarters of a length.
Hall of Fame nominee Charles Keller III is a co-owner of the son of Muscle Hill with trainer Brett Bittle, Dan Bittle, and Charles Keller IV.
— PHHA/Pocono also contributed to this report