Tale of the Tape: Father Patrick vs. Nuncio
November 4, 2014,by Ellen Harvey, Harness Racing Communications
Freehold, NJ — With the stakes season waning, each remaining race takes on greater importance for end of the year Dan Patch award honors. One race that voters will watch carefully is the $200,350 Matron Stake for 3-year-old male trotters this Thursday evening (Nov. 6) at Dover Downs.
The race, set to go as race 10 at about 7:30 p.m., features on the far inside at post one, Father Patrick (Yannick Gingras), and the far outside in post eight, Nuncio (John Campbell).
Nuncio comes into the race with four straight stakes wins, including two legs of the Trotting Triple Crown, the Kentucky Futurity and the Yonkers Trot.
His stablemate Father Patrick has a pair of wins in the American-National and Bluegrass Stakes and two second place finishes in his four most recent starts.
The two share the air at their home in East Windsor, N.J. and a trainer in Hall of Famer Jimmy Takter, but they’ll be looking to separate themselves from each other in end of the year balloting.
Here is a look at the numbers behind the 2014 season, with each horse putting in 15 starts.
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Data Point
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15-10-5-0 $1,297,896, 1:50.4m
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15-11-3-0 $1,443,081, 1:50.2f
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Average margin of victory
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2.4 lengths
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3.82 lengths
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Fastest last quarter
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:27 – three times
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:27 – two times
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Races won for over $100,000
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2
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6
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Average earnings per start
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$86,526.40
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$96,205.40
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Race timed at 1:52 or better
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6
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4
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Winning favorite
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88%
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73%
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Wins from post 8 or higher
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0 for 1
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3 for 4
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Head-to-head
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33% – 2 for 6
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66% – 4 for 6
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