Racing Roundup: Wind Of The North wins Tioga feature

by harness racing publicists across North America

The Saturday (July 22) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Tioga Downs, The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, Hawthorne Race Course, Vernon Downs and Running Aces.

Wind Of The North wins Tioga feature

Nichols, NY — Wind Of The North (Mike Simons) leaves the rest in the dust as they capture the Open Trot ($12,000) at Tioga Downs on Saturday (July 22).

Picture This (Charlie Norris) would charge to the front and take them to a first quarter in :28.4. Wind Of The North (Cantab Hall) would then move first-over from fourth and blow right by to take over before the half.

Owned by Darryl Bier and Joann Dombeck, while trained by Jeff Long, the 7-year-old gelding would follow up with fractions of :57.2, 1:25.0, 1:53.1 and winning by three lengths in the end. Dragin The Wagin (Aaron Byron) would come late to finish second. Picture This would settle for third.

World champion Wind Of The North ($3.90) would win for the sixth time this season in 18 starts and for the 30th time in his career.

Mike Simons would take win number 51 on the season. Jeff Long would earn his sixth training win on the season. The exacta (1-6) would pay $20.20.

The large crowd was entertained after racing with a fantastic display off fireworks.

Tioga Downs returns to racing Sunday afternoon (July 23) with a 12-race betting card and one non-betting Riders Under Saddle (RUS) race (following race one). Post Time is 1 p.m.

Also on Sunday is the “Belly Busting Burger Battle” on the trackside apron from 1-4 p.m. Tickets are $15 with children under 3 free. Half of the ticket proceeds will go to a selected charity. Includes all burger tasting, water and one voting slip per person. Live entertainment and cash prizes. This is weather permitting only.

For more information go to www.tiogadowns.com.

— by John Horne

The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono

Always At My Place, a 6-year-old gelding by Always A Virgin who set a still-standing world record for his division with a 1:47.2 victory on Sun Stakes Saturday 2015, took Saturday night’s $20,000 pacing feature at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono in a 1:48.2 effort that may have approximated his record mile, as it was conducted over a track rated “sloppy +1.” George Napolitano Jr. placed Always At My Place in the “quarter-mover #2” position, tailing El Bloombito’s move to take away the lead from first-to-the-top Long Live Rock after the :26.2 opener. Once El Bloombito cleared, Always At My Place steamed by, putting up middle splits of :53.4 and 1:21.1, then coming home in :27.1 and looking like he could have gone around again as he won by 4-1/2 lengths. Ron Burke conditions the winner of $642,022 for Burke Racing LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Lawrence Karr, and Phil Collura. Top trot on the soggy card was a $16,500 contest, with Napolitano Jr. completing a sweep of the high-level conditioned events with the SJ’s Photo gelding TSM Photo Bugger, who raised his earnings to $688,038 with a 1:54 score. After sitting a pocket trip behind a fast (1:24.4) pace, TSM Photo Bugger trotted to the top then held off Panana Republic for trainer Karen Fread and owner Theodore Tomson. Kevin Wallis, fifth on the list of active all-time winningest drivers, added career victory 10,152 when he guided Dynamic Edge to victory as the biggest longshot of the night, helping him become a pocket rocket while paying $56.40 to win.

Hawthorne Race Course

Illinois-bred male juvenile pacers were the focus on Saturday night at Hawthorne as three divisions of leg two of the Incredible Finale Stakes took place. The card kicked off with the first division as a field of eight was left to face the starter after the late scratch of Heza Real Shooter. The heavy favorite at post time was Fox Valley Gemini for driver Casey Leonard. Making the early lead was Molina as he passed the opening quarter in :28.2. On the backstretch, Molina maintained the lead through the half in 1:00.1. After three-quarters in 1:29.4, Molina continued to lead into the stretch. Mid-stretch, Fox Valley Gemini found room and accelerated quickly, winning by two lengths in 1:56.1. Beach Shootingstar closed to finish second while Not Me Gram was third. Fox Valley Gemini is owned by Jim Ballinger and trained by Terry Leonard. Race three was the second division of leg two of the Incredible Finale with a field of eight to contend. Dandy Dude was favored with Tim Curtin driving. Getting away for the lead was Big Boy Frazier as he passed the opening quarter in :29.4. On the backstretch, Fox Valley Hipster moved alongside, then took command into the turn after a half in 1:00.2. In the turn, Casey Leonard guided Mykonos to the front and opened up. He passed three-quarters in 1:28.1 with a clear lead. In the stretch, Mykonos shortened as Dandy Dude closed but Mykonos had enough left at the wire, winning by a length. Dandy Dude was second while Backstreet Lawyer closed to finish third. Mykonos is owned by Tripoli Stable and trained by Tom Simmons. Race six was the third division of the Incredible Finale with nine horses facing the starter. Favored was Sheriff Coffey with Tim Curtin driving. Clearing easily was Bootleg Island through the quarter in :29.1. After a half in :57.4, Bootleg Island took the field into the turn with a clear lead. After three-quarters in 1:26.4, Bootleg Island led the field into the lane. At the back of the back, Sagebrush Jim broke stride as Sagebrush Sharp collided with him, unseating drivers Brian Carpenter and Jamaica Patton. Both sets of horses and drivers were uninjured. In the stretch, Bootleg Island battled, but Lambo and driver Casey Leonard closed to get up in time, winning in 1:55.2. Bootleg Island held second while Hart to Heart finished third. Lambo is owned and trained by Dane May.

Vernon Downs

Little Santamonica (Chris Lems) takes the Filly and Mare featured pace ($9,500) on Saturday night (July 22) at Vernon Downs. The 9-year-old Little Steven mare, who is owned by Courtney Crawford and trained by Jordan Hope, went right to the front and put up the fractions of :26.4, :56.1, 1:24:2, 1:51.0 to go gate-to-wire. Tataria (Truman Gale) would follow the leader all the way around the track. Little Santamonica ($4.70) looked vulnerable at the top of the stretch, when Tataria (second) came out of the pocket and charged at him. Little Santamonica was just too tough in the stretch coming home in :26.3. She would win for the ninth time this season and post her 54th career victory. All Charged Up (John MacDonald) finished third. Chris Lems who is second only to John Macdonald in driving wins, would also get a gate-to-wire win with Mac’s Black Hat ($4.80). Lems now has 56 wins on the season. Macdonald, who has 64 wins, would match him with two wins on the night. Macdonald would first lead Coopers Beach ($3.20) to the winner’s circle. His second win was with Fox Valley Photog ($2.70). Vernon Downs returns to action on Thursday, with an eight-race card starting at 6:45 p.m. For more information go to www.vernondowns.com.

Running Aces

The $13,000 Minnesota-sired 3-year-old pacing event was the feature on the Saturday evening (July 22) harness racing card at Running Aces with eight sophomores going to battle, and it proved to be a sparkling performance by Whatitdo Babyboo ($7.40) who reminded local fans of her tremendous late speed by sweeping the field from last to first once again, taking a new life mark (1:53.4) in the process. Driver Steve Wiseman guided her away from the gate to the fifth position of eight early and was then shuffled to last as they sat through the early fractions of :27.3 and :57.1, and was still last but beginning to make her move at the three-quarter pole where the timer read 1:24.4. Whatitdo BabyBoo and Wiseman charged right through the middle of the field and sprinted to the wire with a breathtaking rally that left her rivals reeling. She posted a 1-1/2 length winning margin in a sparkling 1:53.4 for her 10th lifetime win in 16 starts. David Flinn trains the daughter of Voracious Hanover for owners Van Oterloo stables. It was a night of upsets, with only one winning favorite on the card. The biggest upset came with CW Raisinette ($54.00) in the featured trotting event, a $6,400 contest where driver Steve Wiseman converted a three-hole trip into a 26-1 shocker as the longest shot in the field posted her fourth lifetime win in a new mark of 1:58.2 for Owners A Piece of The Action and Trainer Kathie Plested-Wiseman. It was the first win on the card in a very big night for Wiseman, who posted a grand slam of four winners on the eight-race program. Twenty-two-year-old trainer/driver Brady Jenson posted his first ever driving double on a pari-mutuel program when he guided two of his own trainees to victory on Saturday, both at long odds. First, he made a sharp sweeping move with his 3-year-old gelding pacer MarkTenTwentySeven ($18.00) to circle the field down the back side and make it two in a row with a new life mark of 1:56.2 in a $4,400 conditioned event, and then later he guided his 4-year-old trotting mare Hall Of Riches ($40.60) to her first lifetime win in 2:00.3 with a brilliant drive splitting rivals turning for home and getting up at the wire by a neck. Both horses are owned by the Jenson family. Also on the Saturday card was a very nice $4,000 conditioned pace for horses and geldings, and Lil Orphan Elmer ($7.40) was the star of the show in that affair. Sent off as the 5-2 second choice, Elmer was floated off the gate in fifth position early in a moderate early pace of :28.3, driver Steve Wiseman got him moving first-over just past the half (:58.1), and he really took off, opening up an eye opening lead around the final turn (1:25.4) and pacing on gamely in the stretch to post a 2-3/4 length tally in 1:54. Lil Orphan Elmer is owned by Scott Ehrlich and George Mc Chrystal and trained by Kathie Plested-Wiseman.
Running Aces is back in action on Sunday (July 23), with a first race post of 6 p.m. CDT.