Anderson, IN — Driver Dexter Dunn made his way to Harrah’s Hoosier Park on Friday (Sept. 13) and swept the two richest Standardbred races in Indiana, taking the $390,000 Peter Haughton Memorial with Maryland and the $305,000 Jim Doherty Memorial with Champagne Problems.
Rookie trotting colts stepped into the spotlight first in the Haughton, with Maryland sent off as the 6-5 favorite in the field of 10.
Leaving from post eight, Maryland and Dunn found themselves the widest of a four-across battle for the lead going into the first turn, with Father TJ (driven by Tyler Buter) first to the quarter on the inside in :27.1. Hidalgo (Yannick Gingras) pressed to the lead briefly before Maryland assumed command and slowed the tempo to the half in :57.4. The top trio remained single file on the final turn, with Maryland leading the field to three-quarters in 1:27.
Maryland began to assert himself at the top of the stretch, trotting clear by three lengths midway through the lane with Hidalgo fending the others off for the minor spoils. Sprinting home in :27.1, Maryland crossed the wire 3-1/4 lengths clear in 1:54.1. Hidalgo held for second, with Eugene The Genius (Mike Oosting) beating out Father TJ for third.
“Quite a few sprinted out of there, which you expect in a race like this,” said Dunn in the winner’s circle. “Once we got to the front, we got things pretty cheap, and he sprinted home and felt great tonight.”
Trained by Marcus Melander, Maryland entered the Peter Haughton off a 17-1 upset in the William Wellwood Memorial, which he won in a career best 1:53.4. Bred by Hanover Shoe Farms, the son of Chapter Seven-Crucial is owned by Courant Inc., PCW Racing LLC, Holly Lane Stud East Ltd., and Sstewartrthorn Stable. Now a winner in three of six career starts, Maryland sports a career bankroll of $425,378.
“He’s been such a good horse from the start,” said trainer Marcus Melander. “He felt like a good horse when we trained him down. He’s classy and did it easy tonight.
“We gave him a little bit of time off this summer but feel like he’s coming into the fall extremely sharp.”
Dunn hinted that Maryland will have his sights set on another major prize next weekend as the star rookie will head back north of the border for the Mohawk Million. In addition, Maryland secured his spot in the $700,000 Breeders Crown and a starting gate position between one and five with the victory in the Haughton.
The Nancy Takter-trained Champagne Problems followed suit and secured her spot in the Breeders Crown with a front end score in the Jim Doherty Memorial, for 2-year-old trotting fillies.
Leaving from post seven as the 5-2 second choice, Dunn slotted Champagne Problems third early as Royal Mission (Scott Zeron) hustled to the front from post nine to cut the quarter in :27.3. Dunn sent Champagne Problems to the front down the backstretch, taking command before reaching the halfway point in :57.1. No challenge came on the far turn to Champagne Problems, who had things her way to the three-quarter pole in 1:26.3.
Champagne Problems began to pour it on at top of the lane, trotting clear by 2-1/2 lengths with an eighth to go while Royal Mission battled Pink Chou Chou (Gingras) for second. Takter stablemate Pink Chou Chou continued to close in deep stretch, but Champagne Problems coasted to a 1-1/2-length victory in 1:54. Royal Mission held for third.
“She was a little fired up in Canada her last couple starts,” Dunn continued. “Nancy made a few changes since then, and she was back to normal tonight and raced great.”
The Southwind Farms-bred daughter of Tactical Landing-Miss Caviar, a $35,000 yearling purchase, has banked $327,504 for owners Rojan Stables, Family Business, Patrick Hoopes and Caviart Farms and has won four of seven starts thus far in her debut season.
Grand circuit racing action continues at Harrah’s Hoosier Park next Friday (Sept. 20) as part of the $200,000 (est.) Caesars Trotting Classic card. The evening will feature nine stakes races worth over $1.2 million. First post for the Caesars Trotting Classic card is 6 p.m.
The week of racing concludes at Harrah’s Hoosier Park on Saturday (Sept. 14) with a 12-race card set to get underway at 7 p.m. For more information, visit www.harrahshoosierpark.com.