The talented eight-year-old Western Hanover stallion sat fifth along the rail through the early fractions of the race under the guidance of driver John Wagner. The trainee of Manley Brown, Jr. tipped out and came second over at the three-quarter pole behind Dixie Pride (Joe Offutt) to charge home with a final quarter of 27.2.

Dixie Pride was impressive; the five-year-old Real Artist horse made his second start back after a several month layoff. The horse came first over to close with a last quarter of 27.4 as the favorite. The 2005 Rosecroft co-horse of the year took a mark of 1:50.4 on the oval late last summer.

The top three finishers were blanketed across the wire, each notching a time of 1:53.4 for the mile. Dixie Pride [$5.00, $2.10] was second for the Offutt connections and Mr. Thinker [$2.10] finished third with Tom Jackson in the sulky. Mr. Thinker, a six-year-old Glowing Tribute horse, cut quarters of 28.0, 57.3 and 1:25.4, only to be overtaken by a neck at the wire.

The 9-5 morning line choice, Sea Man, turned in disappointing effort with a fifth place finish. As the victor of last week’s edition of the race, Sea Man sat in sixth for the majority of the race and made up a length in the stretch with a 27.3 last quarter. Owner Lorenzo De Simone drove the seven-year-old son of Beach Towel.

The 5-3-1 trifecta returned $386.00.