by James Witherite, Tioga Downs racing media
Two-year-old pacers took center stage at Tioga Downs on
Friday (September 12) evening, contesting their divisions of the W.N. Reynolds
Memorial Stake on the penultimate program of the 2014 season. And while
Hall of Terror (Marcus Miller, $3.50) turned in a mightily impressive :54.4
final half mile in his victory, top honors went to Dealt a Winner ($3.90), who
set a new track record for two-year-old pacing geldings.
The son of Cam's Card Shark was well off the pace early in
the tenth race, moving second-over behind Shooby Said (Jim Marohn, Jr.) after
Gallic Beach (Tim Tetrick) brushed from midpack to the fore in a sensible :56.4
half mile. On the backstretch, David Miller angled Dealt a Winner
three-wide, pushing past Shooby Said into a joint lead with Gallic Beach on the
far turn. The two dueled through the stretch, with Dealt a Winner taking
over outright in the final sixteenth and drawing clear for a one-length win.
Sicily (Corey Callahan) tracked live three-wide cover on the backstretch,
staying on for third.
Dealt a Winner's 1:52.3 victory took a second off the prior
track record for two-year-old pacing geldings. Ed Hart handles the
training duties for owner Jeffrey Snyder.
McArdles Lightning (Scott Zeron, 1:53.3) and Dragon Eddy (Mike
Simons, 1:53.3) were the other two winners in the Reynolds divisions for
two-year-old colts and geldings.
Corey Callahan teamed up with two freshman fillies for
Reynolds wins as part of a Friday driving hat trick, holding sway with Divine
Caroline (1:53.1) and kicking clear with Bettor B Steppin (1:53.3) in their
stakes splits. Deli Beach (John Campbell, 1:55) was the other triumphant
filly in the evening's stakes races.
The closing night (Saturday, September 13) program at Tioga
features an 11-race card, with post time scheduled for 6:15 p.m. EDT.
