by Evan Pattak for The Meadows

MEADOW LANDS, PA , April 2, 2005—Early leader West Teen, given a 30-second breather in the second quarter, cruised to a handy victory in the $10,000 final of the Legacy of Power, a late-closing series for 3- and 4-year old pacers, Saturday night at The Meadows. Raven Rocket and No Spin Zone dead-heated for place, 2-1/4 lengths behind the winner. Time for the mile over a sloppy track was 1:55.2.

West Teen left from post position seven and made the front for Dave Palone in a demanding 27:3. But with Medoland Big Guy parked on the outside, the unused horses lacked racing room, and Palone was able to give West Teen a much-needed break. The freshened West Teen charged home in 27:4, effectively blunting the challenges of Raven Rocket and No Spin Zone.

“That second quarter helped a lot—it was the whole race,” Palone said. “Last week I got him tortured trying to get the race set up the way I wanted. I thought I had the best horse in the series if I could control it. When I was able to cross over to the pylons without any pressure, I think that was the key.

“He’s more comfortable on the lead. Right now his confidence level is high. The only time I got myself in trouble in this series was when I tried to put him in a hole. So I figured, if we go down, we’ll go down swinging.”

A son of Western Hanover trained by Brad Buxton for lessee Bob Key, West Teen captured two preliminary legs of the series, including a blazing wire-to-wire triumph in 1:54.4. Buxton noted that West Teen was substantially staked early in his career but has only recently begun to grow into his ability.

“He was very immature in his brain,” Buxton said. “He’s been doing a lot of growing up. He’s starting to learn how to be a race horse. He’s no different than a lot of boys. He’s a late bloomer.”

The series was named for Legacy of Power, who captured the 1997 Delvin Miller Adios for Dan Ross and remains the only horse to win the Pace for the Orchids through disqualification.