from harness publicists across North America

Sunday’s (May 5) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Tioga Downs, Saratoga Casino and Raceway, Harrington Raceway and Raceway Park.

Windsun Callum takes Sunday Tioga Open

Nichols, NY — Driver Aaron Byron made the move this year to Tioga Downs and on Sunday afternoon his Windsun Callum began adapting to his new surroundings by winning the $16,000 Open Pace.

Fred Brown photo

Windsun Callum was a 1:52.2 winner in the Tioga Open.

The duo left from post one in a field scratched down to eight starters with Sheer Brilliance (Corey Braden) setting the early tempo of :26.4 and :56. Down the backside Byron placed Windsun Callum in the cover flow by the three-quarters in 1:23.2.

Around the final turn, Byron tipped Windsun Callum three wide and paced by the leaders to draw clear in the stretch and win in 1:52.2. The 10-year-old millionaire Eagle Luck (Jim Marohn, Jr.) closed late for second, while Sheer Brilliance hung tough for third.

It was the fourth win of the year in ten starts for Windsum Callum, a 9-year-old son of Cam’s Card Shark–Star Magic who is trained by Jeff Byron for owner David Byron.

Mike Simons posted a driving triple on the afternoon’s 13-race card, while Jason Bartlett and Rick Dane, Jr. each scored doubles.

— Dustin Ross

Saratoga Casino and Raceway
The win streak for Cocoa Beach moved to six on Sunday afternoon on a beautiful day in Saratoga Springs. The mare was a recent $10,000 claim for owner-trainer Brittany Robertson who has propelled the mare all the way up to the Open. On Sunday, Cocoa Beach (Mach Three) again coasted to a wire-to-wire win. Driver Dan Cappello, Jr. fired the 5-year-old mare out from her assigned outside post and she had little difficulty getting to the top and even less of a problem cruising to the convincing 1:53 victory in the $20,000 Open for distaff pacers. Hayworth Blue Chip (Jim Devaux) rode the leader’s coattails throughout and finished second while Bell On Wheels (Jordan Derue) earned the show spot in the Sunday feature for the second straight week. Cocoa Beach wrapped up another big week at the Spa for young conditioner Brittany Robertson who won four races in just five tries. Cappello tallied four winners on the matinee card.

Harrington Raceway
Harrington Raceway’s three-time defending driving champion Ross Wolfenden reasserted himself Sunday, winning five of the program’s 12 races. Wolfenden started the program with a win in the first race aboard Quick Rod ($3.20) before winning race five with Memory Bank ($5.60). He later won three races in succession with Rusty’s Gamble ($2.80), Ace’s Z Tam ($5.20) and Socoteur Bluegrass ($3.40) in races 9-11. Jon Roberts had a driving double.

Raceway Park
Despite a move up in class off a disappointing place finish as the 2-5 favorite over a sloppy track a week ago, the classy veteran T Red stepped off a decisive 1:55.4 score in Raceway Park’s featured conditioned pace on Sunday night. It was the 46th career victory for the 8-year-old chestnut gelding owned by trainer Henry Gulley. Driver Jason Merriman sat chilly in fourth until just before the halfway marker, then pulled first-over down the backstretch and cleared pacesetter and eventual runner-up Allamerican Junior (Ron Wrenn, Jr.) before the final turn. Totally Excellent (Jason Thompson) rallied in the stretch to finish third. Ron Wrenn, Jr., who entered the night in third place in the national dash standings with 200 seasonal wins, added five more tallies to his impressive total. The talented 26-year-old reinsman guided winners for four different trainers on the program. Wrenn visited the winner’s circle with Gallows Pole (trainer Ernie Smith) in the second, Briarwood Rex (Toby Carver) in the third, Ideal Shark (Robert Dinning) in the sixth, Now Really (Tricia Shepard) in the eighth and Histerio (Dinning) in the ninth.