Northfield, OH – After Timeisonemyside set devastating fractions early, Sabonis was able to pick up the pieces late, rallying to win the $300,000 Carl Milstein Memorial on Saturday (Aug. 10) at MGM Northfield Park.
The Carl Milstein Memorial was the first time Sabonis had raced on a half-mile track, but his connections were never worried about their prized colt.
“He was pretty good at home on a half, I figured we would give it a shot and see what happened,” said winning trainer Aaron Stutzman.
Dan Noble wasted no time putting Paris’s Dragon into play timing the gate perfectly and sprinting off the wings into the opening turn, but Timeisonmyside (Anthony MacDonald) was not about to let his rival clear, with the pair getting to a bone crushing :25.4 first quarter.
“Once I saw that quarter pop up, I thought to myself, well we will be okay,” said Stutzman.
It was then that Noble decided to back off the pace, with Timeisonmyside driving on to take the lead on the inside around the far turn for the first time. MacDonald tried to get a breather, but Timeisonmyside was on a speed mission, getting to the half in a demanding :54.1.
Entering the backstretch, Timeisonmyside had a two-length lead and showed no signs of slowing down with Paris’s Dragon and Wish You Well (David Miller) chasing about three to four lengths off the lead.
Ronnie Wrenn Jr. asked Noblesville to improve, but he was spinning his wheels up the backstretch, forcing Sabonis (Joey Putnam) to come three-deep with Storm Shadow (Scott Zeron) breaking stride.
Timeisonmyside got to three-quarters in 1:21.4, with Wish You Well applying serious pressure, and eventual winner Sabonis still 6-3/4 lengths off the pace turning for home.
“When I saw the three-quarter time pop up, I was confident we would get there,” said Putnam. “The horse can do it from anywhere, when my hand was forced early to go three-wide, I was confident in his ability.”
Through the stretch, Sabonis worked his way to the lead and won impressively in 1:50.3, Timeisonmyside dug in gamely to be second, with Wish You Well third and Sweet Beach Life (Matt Kakaley), who was begging for racing room finishing fourth.
“It was a great night, the horse was awesome,” said Putnam. “At Hoosier the bottom turn is tight, I wasn’t worried about him at all tonight.”
The 3-year-old son by Tellitlikeitis made it eight wins in a row, pushing his career earnings to $327,450.
Winning owner Pat Miller told Gabe Prewitt following the race “I’m a complete loss for words,” she said with excitement.