by Marv Bachrad, publicity director, Dover Downs

Dover, DE — Sunday was Miller Time at Dover Downs. David Miller drove the winners of both six-figure feature races on a chilly and windy early evening in Delaware. The Hall of Famer guided McWicked to a 1:48.4 victory in the track’s signature event, the $301,560 Progress Pace after steering Sonofa Sizzle home in 1:52.1 in a mild upset to win the $100,000 Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund (DSBF) 2-year-old Male Pace final.

Paying a $25,000 supplemental fee paid off for owner Ed James’ S S G Stable as McWicked swept both the $35,000 Progress Pace Prevue and $301,560 final in identical clockings of 1:48.4, but the manner of victories varied. After a wire-to-wire success the prior week, this time Miller drove the McArdle-Western Sahara colt out of third approaching the half and then sided-up to leader JK Endofanera, driven by Yannick Gingras, on the backstretch and battled around the final turn before pulling away early in the stretch for his 12th win of the year raising his seasonal bankroll to $1,472,937 and $1,652,554 for his two seasons of racing. JK Endofanera was 1-1/4 lengths back in second with Tim Tetrick rallying Somewhere In L A for third money. Big Boy Dreams (Ron Pierce), winner of the recent Matron Final at Dover, was fourth.

After a strong summer campaign, McWicked, who was a strong favorite in the Little Brown Jug, but had to settle for a fifth in the final, tailed off slightly until recently when trainer Casie Coleman got the colt back to top form finishing third in the Matron, then second in a Breeders Crown elimination prior to a 1:49 success in the $531,250 final before coming to Dover Downs.

Fotowon photo

Sonofa Sizzle and David Miller took the DSBF final for 2-year-old male pacers in 1:51.2 on Sunday at Dover Downs.

Two races earlier, Mike White’s Sonofa Sizzle, bred by Delawareans Charles and Diana Coursey, came on strongly for Miller in the $100,000 DSBF final for a 1:52.1 triumph. Remember Me VK with Montrell Teague in the bike, had carved out a 1:51.4 DSBF all-time fastest mile a week ago in a prelim, and this week led from the start with fast fractions until the field turned down the homestretch. Sonofa Sizzle came from way back on the outside to rush to the front and victory. A 54-1 shot, Roddy’s Hot Again (George Dennis) came on second with Smoking Joey (Corey Callahan) third.

A son of Life Sizzles-JK Lady Like, Sonofa Sizzle won for the fourth time this season in 10 starts with three seconds and a third. The Gary Green-trainee has now won $115,516

Joining David Miller with two wins were drivers Allan Davis, Tony Morgan and Ross Wolfenden and trainers Buddy Bright and Wayne Givens. .

On Monday, the final $100,000 Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund (DSBF) 2-year-old final of the year boasts a strong field of filly pacers led by Totally Rusty and Purrfect Bags.