by Marv Bachrad, publicity director, Dover Downs

Dover, DE — Flying Instructor won the fastest $20,000 Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund sophomore colt pace, outdistancing seven rivals in 1:52.3 to win the first of three second leg preliminaries on Monday (April 2) at Dover Downs.

Fotowon photo

Flying Instructor was a 1:52.3 winner for driver Tim Tetrick.

Tim Tetrick drove the Badlands Hanover-Daylon Flyer colt to his fourth straight and second consecutive 2012 win and seventh of his career. Niel Gargiulo, Louie Paglierani, Legacy Racing of Del. and Nanticoke Racing own the winner trained by Wayne Givens. Sambad (Brad Hanners) and I’m Luck Again (Ron Pierce) were second and third, respectively.

Ron Pierce led off the card by driving Al Moor and J&E Stable’s Pop A Top Pop, a Badlands Hanover–Coho Salmon gelding trained by Janet Davis, to an easy 1:54 win in another DSBF prelim. It was one of Pierce’s six winning drives on Monday. Bail Money (Ben Stafford, Jr.) nipped Chizzled In Stone (George Dennis) for second.

A third Badlands Hanover-sired 3-year-old, Pushintheenvelope, whose dam is Spirit Flyte, won the third $20,000 DSBF prelim when Tim Tetrick guided him to his first win of the season in 1:54.4. Capers And Lemons (Allan Davis) finished second in front of Celtic Pride (Roger Plante). The winner is co-owned by trainer John Wagner and Winbak Farm.

In the $36,000 Preferrred Pace, 11-year-old Bondy N, who crossed the Pacific less than five months ago, posted his fifth victory in 10 races this year by out-closing Custard The Dragon, then held on to beat Samadar and Corey Callahan in deep stretch. Last week’s winner Special T Rocks, piloted by Daryl Bier, had to settle for third in the week’s top event.

With all nine of his starts in the money in top class races, Harry von Knoblauch’s Peter Tritton-conditioned Bondy N, in only his 65th start, both Down Under and in the U.S.A., posted his 28th lifetime victory. The altered son of Live Or Die-Killarney has won $71,760 of his $658,026 in career earnings this meet.

Higher And Higher wasted no time in taking the lead and Daryl Bier was a passenger the rest of the way in a track record 1:49.1 victory in the $27,500 Open Handicap Pace.

It was the second record this meet for the Western Terror-Pro Bowl Best mare. She equaled the 1:49.2 world record at four last November and this time set a new personal and track record for a female pacer. Bier, Glenn DelRusso and Charles Dombeck own the $117,987 winner this year and $875,246 lifetime. Feel Like A Fool (Montrell Teague) stalked the winner from the start and held on for second. High Joltage (Ben Stafford, Jr.) was the show finisher.

In addition to Pierce’s six wins, Tetrick won three and Corey Callahan two, combining for 11 of the 15 races.