Oak Grove, KY – For the second consecutive week, Seriously Feared, driven by the Gerrads Cross, United Kingdom native Noah Stanley, took top honors in the United States Harness Driving Club (USHDC) feature at Oak Grove Racing and Gaming on Monday (April 21).
Stanley, who achieved his first win on U.S. soil a week ago, again piloted the 5-year-old gelded son of Fear The Dragon to another handy win—this one measuring 8-1/4 lengths in 1:55.4.
KIzzzmelikeumissme, with Peter Kleinhans in the sulky, rallied for second while Studio Hanover and driver John Mungillo teamed up to be third.
Little Bit Tuff was fourth for Cassidy Whitton while Best Bolt, closed stoutly to earn the nickel for Zyler Maxwell, conquering the eight post at the start.
Off as the 3-5 tote-board favorite (plus six extra cents with Kentucky’s penny breakage), Seriously Feared left alertly from the inside post, but elected to avoid the war off the wings as Studio Hanover and Allaboutthematerial skirmished for the top spot through a quick opener of :27.2.
Once things settled down with Allaboutthematerial and Studio Hanover one-two, respectively, Stanley sent his charge on a first over blitz, looked the leader in the eye through a :56.2 half mile and kept grinding forward until reaching the lead about 3/8ths from the wire.
Once on top, the winner clocked three-quarters in 1:26 and increased the margin with every stride to the wire through a :29.4 finale.
In a post-race interview, the 27-year-old “junior” Noah related, “Seriously Feared really raced well…all on his own. Once everything settled down, I was very confident in his ability, especially after last week’s performance. He was out a long way but was strong once I sent him forward and gave him all the racetrack he wanted.”
Trained by Gary Campbell for the “senior” Noah Stanley, the win was the second of the year in 10 starts this semester and kept his Oak Grove record unblemished since his recent arrival, sending his lifetime bankroll to $67,726.
The winner paid $3.32 to his multitude of faithful.