Racing Roundup: Tioga track mark matched by My True Delight
June 13, 2009,from Harness Publicists across North America
Saturday’s (June 13) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Tioga Downs, Scioto Downs, Scarborough Downs, Vernon Downs, Ocean Downs, Saratoga Raceway, Buffalo Raceway and Cal-Expo.
Tioga track mark matched by My True Delight
Nichols, NY — My True Delight and Phil Fluet equaled the track mark of 1:52.1 for older pacing mares on Saturday night at Tioga Downs in the $14,000 Fillies and Mares Open Handicap Pace.
Fred Brown Photography
My True Delight was a 1:52.1 winner on Saturday for Phil Fluet.
The duo found a spot in the middle of the pack as Nip N Attack and Howard Parker cut through fractions of :27.3, :55.1, and 1:23. Corey Braden edged out of the pocket with Golden Falcon N to challenge around the last turn, but My True Delight was too strong as she went three wide through the lane and captured her second victory of the year.
Judy Lanpher owns and trains the 6-year-old daughter of Bettor’s Delight-My True Art. The victory lowered her lifetime mark by a full second, and with the winner’s share of $7,000, increased her lifetime earnings to more than $192,000.
In the first leg of the M&J Oil and Lube Pace, Touch And Go and Howard Parker pulled to the front past the three-eighths pole and never relinquished the lead. The duo paced through fractions of :28, :56.2, and 1:23.3 before sprinting away from the field in :28.3 to stop the teletimer in 1:52.1. It was the third win in nine starts for the 4-year-old son of Life Sign-Go Lightly. Nick Giberson trains Touch And Go for Suttons Bay Racing and the mile of 1:52.1 established a new lifetime mark.
In the second division of the pacing series, the betting favorite Cheyenne Knight did not disappoint his backers. Trainer-driver Bruce Clarke sent the 4-year-old Dragon Again-Cheyenne Sabrina gelding three wide down the backstretch to open up on the field. It was the fifth win in eight starts for Cheyenne Knight, who captured the first leg in 1:52.3.
— Dustin Ross
Handsome Prince takes Scioto feature
Columbus, OH — Handsome Prince took the featured Open II Pace at Scioto Downs on Saturday night with a 1:54.4 victory for trainer-driver Kenny Kidd and owner Buckeye Racing LLC of Newark, Ohio.
The 4-year-old son of Grinfromeartoear rallied in the stretch to draw clear of Caramel Dumpling, who finished second, and Attack On Magic, who got the show dough.
Kidd kept his pacer well off the fast early fractions of :26 seconds to the quarter set by Chilli NZ, a Kiwi import making his first start in North America. Chilli NZ led past the half-mile marker in :55.2, but then waved the white flag of surrender as the field went past him.
Handsome Prince, who started from the outside post eight, paid $10.40 to win. It was the second win in eight starts this season for Handsome Prince.
There were two divisions of the third leg of the Falcon Almahurst series for pacers with the first division going to Maybeitwasmemphis in 1:56.3. He overtook pacesetting Snooz Attack with a quarter-mile remaining and drew away to win easily for Jeff Dailey, who drove him for owner-trainer Larry Roberts. Snooz Attack held for second over Bonos Jackson. Maybeitwasmemphis paid $15.60 to win.
In the second division of the Falcon Almahurst, the even-money favorite Zipsnapndrop scored for Dan Noble in 1:56.3 over Swing To The Top and Blue Rock Joe. It was his sixth win in 22 starts this season. He paid an even $4.00 to win.
— Dean A. Hoffman
The Boy N continues his winning ways at Scarborough
Scarborough, ME — The Boy N may in fact soon qualify for social security benefits, but the 12-year-old classy veteran continues to romp with youthful abandon as he roared to his third consecutive victory at Scarborough Downs on Saturday.
Derek Davis photo
The Boy N secures his 48th career win with driver Shawn Gray calling the shots.
Trained and driven by Shawn Gray for the ownership group of Gaetan Cloutier and Mary Jane Parker the Kiwi-import secured his 48th career trip down victory lane. While posing with his connections in the Scarborough Downs winner’s circle he actually appeared to kick up his heels in celebration as the teletimer stood frozen proclaiming a seasonal best 1:56.1 clocking.
The win was one of three consecutive tallies for driver Shawn Gray on Saturday as the torrid teamster also paraded victoriously with Lost The Flip and Legal Trouble.
— Michael Sweeney
Hollidays sweep Vernon features
Vernon, NY — Trainer Sherri Holliday brought the swift-footed pacers Boardmaster and Nifty Prescott to Vernon Downs on Saturday night and each captured a featured Open contest.
Boardmaster posted a gate-to-wire triumph in the $9,000 sixth race, Saturday’s top Open test, while Nifty Prescott followed suit with a front-striding effort in the $7,000 seventh session, the Open-2 confrontation. Ken Holliday steered both speedy side-wheelers, each owned by Betty Tauber.
Boardmaster’s three-quarter length tally over the fast-closing Daley Deposit Only was his second locally and fifth of the season. His 1:52 clocking was just two-fifths of a second off the meet’s fastest mile through 24 programs. The 5-year-old son of Blissful Hall-La Rousse Fantasia has 13 career victories and total earnings of more than $108,100.
Fresh off an Open win at Buffalo Raceway on June 6, Nifty Prescott defeated The Best by one length in a 1:53 performance that resulted in his initial local triumph, fourth on the campaign and 16th all-time. The 5-year-old son of Million Dollar Cam-Shannon Déjà Vu increased his lifetime earnings to $126,618.
Ken Holliday also won with the John Roach-trained pacer Most Happy Keene to complete his first hat trick of the track’s 56th season.
— Jim Moran
2009 season opens at Ocean Downs
Berlin, MD — Opening night at Ocean Downs proved to be an exciting one as a track record was set and a driving triple was recorded.
The feature of the opening night was the first leg of the Bud Light Pace, the first of a number of stake races at the Ocean Oval this summer. The late closer was a half-mile dash that was exhilarating to say the least. Frank Milby, who won in the first round of the same event last year, kept his stride by driving Mr Thinker ($10.20), a 9-year-old horse, to the win. Frank’s winning time of :55 seconds set a new track record at Ocean Downs.
Another highlight of the night was Chuck Perry, Jr.’s driving triple. The first three races of the night were recorded as a win in his book. The 44-year-old drove 3-year-old gelding Hurricane Bluechip ($4.40) to the Ocean Oval’s first win of the season.
“I’m supposed to be rusty because this is my first race of the season,” said Chuck. “Although I did think that they all could win.”
Perry was anything but rusty as he raced to an early lead in the driving title race.
— Ozi Menakaya
Saturday’s stars keep rolling at Saratoga
Saratoga Springs, NY — Jacob’s Western, Maes Boy Blue and Rare Jewel continued their Saturday night dominance at Saratoga Gaming and Raceway as all three pacers repeated on Saturday evening.
Jacob’s Western rattled off his fifth consecutive win, wiring the field in the $15,000 claimer in 1:54.2. The winning time was the fastest of the year for the veteran pacer who recorded his seventh win of the season in just 14 starts. Frank Coppola, Jr. was behind Jacob’s Western for the Saturday win just as he has been throughout the winning streak.
Jacob’s Western’s stablemate Maes Boy Blue also continued Saturday dominance as he overcame post eight to win for the sixth time in seven Saturdays at the Spa. Denis St. Pierre has been the regular reinsman for Maes Boy Blue’s run.
Leading trainer Colin Johnson conditions both claming pacers and recorded a Saturday night hat trick when Jazz Band went wire-to-wire in the night’s 11th race with St. Pierre in tow.
Rare Jewel was the winner of the Saturday Open Pace for the fifth time of the campaign. The classy pacer went back-to-back in Saturday features, winning his second consecutive in 1:53.2 for driver Dan Cappello, Jr. and trainer Rich Banca.
— Mike Sardella
Arson Ant scorches field in Buffalo Open
Hamburg, NY — Arson Ant, a 4-year-old The Firepan gelding, out of the Cambest mare Miss Amanda Sue, won the $9,000 Open Handicap Pace in 1:55 for owner-trainer Peter J. Arrigenna at Buffalo Raceway on Saturday night.
Leaving quickly from the rail in the field of six, Arson Ant ($6.90), with regular reinsman Troy Boring in the bike, set all the fractions in the race, :28.2, :56.4, and 1:26.2. A :28.3 last quarter-mile put the winner 1-3/4 lengths ahead of second place finisher Oh Gee Whiz (Jim McNeight) at the finish line. Kermunn (Ron Beback, Jr.) came in third.
“He raced very well,” said Boring. “Naturally the rail helped, but he was much sharper tonight than he’s been in the past. He’s a different horse when he’s on the lead.”
The $4,500 share of the purse put Arson Ant’s season’s bankroll at $28,640 and $78,575 lifetime. It was Arson Ant’s fifth win of the year in 14 attempts.
— Sam Pendolino
Star Time Kid shines bright at Cal-Expo
Sacramento, CA — Open 1 handicap pacers, racing for a $7,100 purse, were featured at Cal-Expo on Saturday night in which Star Time Kid provided a bit of an upset.
Leaving and getting the lead after 3-16ths of a mile, driver Rick Plano would push the pace with Star Time Kid into a hot :27.1 first quarter in which the 3-5 favorite Youbetterbelieveit was trying to get the lead.
“It took me a while to get there, but it wasn’t too bad on my horse despite :27.1 because he had been there before. The horse it hurt was Youbetterbelieveit because he had been three-wide in the first turn.”
Yielding the lead at the 5-16ths pole, Star Time Kid would find himself in the pocket as the field reached the half-mile station, timed in :56.1.
“The :29.1 second quarter breather was good for me and Youbetterbelieveit, but if I was going to win, it was off of that journey.”
Moving to second-over position at the three-quarter marker, timed in 1:24.2, this after Split Ticket (Lemoyne Svendsen) had quickly moved first-over at the five-eighths pole, Plano was pleased.
“Mooney (Lemoyne Svendsen) attacked and was kind of getting by Youbetterbelieveit and that was good for me since I had quite a bit of horse and those two horses were racing at each other. At that point I thought I had a good chance.”
Moving three-wide at the head of the lane, Star Time Kid would close into the lead just past the seven-eighths pole.
“He exploded when I came off of Split Ticket and got the lead, but he gets a little weak late in the mile and that always worries me. I, however, got a few lengths on them and he went on to race one of his better races.”
Bred and owned by Alan Kirschenbaum and Sheldon Perry, Star Time Kid would draw clear in the final sixteenth of a mile to win ($13.80) by two lengths in 1:52.2, equaling a lifetime best. D Jokerman (James Kennedy) closed nicely late to be second and Split Ticket finished just a neck farther back in third. Youbetterbelieveit faded to fourth.
“It takes a good trip for a horse like him to win that race and that’s what he got and that’s what he did,” finished Plano.
— Scott Ehrlich