Racing Roundup: Jans Luck cruises in $25,000 Meadows pace
May 15, 2009,from Harness Publicists across North America
Thursday’s (May 14) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from The Meadows, Saratoga Raceway, Vernon Downs, Cal-Expo and Scioto Downs.
Jans Luck cruises in $25,000 Meadows pace
Meadow Lands, PA — Allowed a second-quarter breather, Jans Luck blazed the last half in :55.3 and cruised to victory in the $25,000 Filly & Mare Preferred Pace on Thursday at The Meadows.
Dave Palone hustled Jans Luck to the front through an opening quarter of :27. When the 5-year-old daughter of Camluck-Jans Scooter backed the second panel down to :29.3, she had plenty in reserve to turn back the first-over challenge of Osborne’s Gypsy. Jans Luck scored in 1:52.1, a length better than Osborne’s Gypsy with the pocket-sitting Spring Break third.
Ron Burke trains Jans Luck, who won for the second straight week and for the 23rd time in 2008-2009, for Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, JJK Stables and M1 Stable. It was one of Palone’s four victories and three for Burke on the 15-race card.
— Evan Pattak
Clement trainees repeat at Saratoga
Saratoga Springs, NY — For the second consecutive Thursday night, stablemates Jim Jam Gigolett and Double Brand won at Saratoga. The Ed Clement trainees were each prohibitive favorites in their races and made good with relative ease.
Dave Oxford photo
Double Brand scored on Thursday in a lifetime best 1:59.3.
Jim Jam Gigolett recorded her third consecutive win by wiring the field at 2-5 for driver Dan Cappello, Jr. while Double Brand trotted to victory in a career best 1:59.3.
The win for Double Brand was the sixth already this season, easily putting her into the lead amongst Saratoga horses, as the 5-year-old trotter has been doing her best work on the front end this season. On Thursday, Double Brand never encountered an anxious moment before reporting home a four length winner on the night.
Both Double Brand and Jim Jam Gigolett still fit the classes of their regular wins and are sure to be forces in their next start as well.
— Mike Sardella
Dead heat in Thursday feature at Vernon
Vernon, NY — Unshakeable and Sharpshootennorris tied for top honors in Thursday night’s $9,000 featured sixth race at Vernon Downs.
Fotowon photo
Sharpshootennorris (#8) and Unshakeable (#6) could not be separated at the wire.
Unshakeable, leaving from post six in the week’s Open 1 Trot, went right to the front for driver Howard Okusko, Jr. and cut fractions of :28.1 to the quarter, :58.4 to the half and 1:27.3 at the third station. Sharpshootennorris, assigned the outside eighth slot, raced on the outside throughout the mile, advancing from sixth at the quarter to third around the final bend. With driver Roman Lopez urging the gritty gelding on, Sharpshootennorris continued to grind it out in the stretch and finally drew even with Unshakeable at the finish to record the meet’s first dead heat for win.
The 1:55.4 clocking is the quickest at the Downs by a diagonally gaited performer through 10 programs, and a new win record for Unshakeable, who earned his second score in six current outings for trainer Jessica Okusko and the Howard Okusko, Jr., Conrad Zurich and Purple Haze Stables ownership group.
It marked the third win in a row, second at Vernon, for Sharpshootennorris, a career winner of more than $239,000, who is shared in ownership by trainer Tracy Brainard and Gerard Stuchbury. His 1:56.3 triumph for Lopez here on May 1 was the previous fastest trotting mile of the season at the Downs.
With Jimmy Whittemore at the controls, Winbak Dream captured Thursday’s $6,000 fifth event, the week’s Open-2 trot. The steady-striding 4-year-old mare raced on the front end throughout, stopping the timer in 1:56.4 to attain her second win in succession and third in five current outings for trainer and co-owner Joseph Flynn and his partner, Edward Flynn. It marked the 10th lifetime tally for the career winner of $202,506.
Okusko, the meet’s top dash-winner, also won the ninth race with Jennifer Signor’s veteran trotter Double D Fine to record his 17th first-place finish and a meet-leading fourth driving double. Driver Bill Bailey also chalked up a pair of first-place finishes during Thursday’s 10-race program, as did owner Signor and trainer Jason Signor.
— Jim Moran
‘Mama’ wins the battle at Cal-Expo
Sacramento, CA — Conditioned ladies, racing for a $4,200 purse, were featured at Cal-Expo on Thursday night, in which Mamahaswhiskerstoo climbed a mountain.
Coming away sixth and last from post three, Mamahaswhiskerstoo and driver Steve Wiseman would remain at the caboose through first-half fractions of :29.2 and :58.1.
On the move uncovered with just less than 7-16ths of a mile to go and gaining some momentum to the middle of the final turn, Mamahaswhiskerstoo would get cover from Dawnlikeslillies (Tim Maier), but would have her momentum taken away. Now with non-moving cover, a realistic Wiseman was forced to tip his mare three-wide at the three-quarter marker, timed in 1:26.2.
“At the three-quarter pole, I figured I’d be no worse than second, but didn’t think I had a shot of winning because my cover hadn’t gone anywhere,” said Wiseman.
Appearing to be in an impossible spot while seven lengths down with a quarter of a mile to go while Silver Bloom (Rick Plano) led by an expanding three lengths, Mamahaswhiskerstoo would start closing in the lane and cutting into the margin at mid-stretch. Continuing to gain ground the more she went on, the 5-year-old mare would catch a tiring Silver Bloom in the shadow of the wire.
“I had to urge her on, but she felt good and was good enough to win. I, however, didn’t think I had it won until the last five steps.”
Bred and owned by Wendi Wiener, and trained by Nathalie Tremblay, Mamahaswhiskerstoo would win ($9.80) by a half-length in 1:55.3, a lifetime best and one of three wins for Wiseman. Silver Bloom finished in second and Dawnlikeslillies was able to grab the show shot, another two lengths farther back.
“She raced good from behind last week and raced good from behind this week — especially given that I didn’t think I had a shot at the three-quarters,” finished Wiseman.
— Scott Ehrlich
Freedom Hall captures Scioto trot
Columbus, OH — Freedom Hall, a sophomore son of Broadway Hall, got up to win by a nose in 1:58.4 in the trotting feature on Thursday night at Scioto Downs.
Bred and owned by Gary Reynolds, the gelding was driven to victory by trainer-driver Dan Reynolds. He paid $13.00 to win.
Kyle Ater drove the winners of the first two divisions of the Steamin Demon series for pacers with identical winning times of 1:57. El Puncho won by 3-1/2 lengths and Track Stand won by a half-length. The fastest winner in the Steamin Demon, however, was Crime Scene Cruzer, who scored for Chris Page in 1:56.2.
In the B.F. Coaltown series for trotters, the winners were Aloha Hooray in 1:59.1 for Ryan Stahl while Fry Vally Ike scored for Chip Noble in 2:01.1.
— Dean A. Hoffman