by James Witherite, Tioga Downs racing media
Believe This Bob bags back-to-back wins at Tioga
Nichols, N.Y. -- On a dreary Monday evening which felt more
like the last of April than the first of June, Mary Larrimore's Believe This
Bob ($2.90) staved off two late threats en route to a 1:51.2 victory in the
featured $14,000 Open Pace at Tioga Downs.
Coming off a handy 1:50.3 win the week prior, the 7-year-old
Beach Romeo gelding made an early push to the fore, clearing That'll Be the Rei
(Jim Marohn, Jr.) on the first turn. While he had to work to achieve the
lead in a :26.2 initial quarter, Believe This Bob was able to rate a :55.1 half
before maintaining his uncontested lead on the backstretch. Heading to
the far turn, Road Untraveled (Mike Simons) began a two-wide push, progressing
after Believe This Bob passed the three-quarter mark in 1:23.2 while
maintaining his 1-1/2 length lead. At the top of the stretch, Aaron Byron
called upon the odds-on pacesetter for all he had, working through the final
150 yards to stave off a late bid from That'll Be the Rei. While those
two dueled, Road Untraveled dove to the pegs to sustain his rally, proving to
be the equal of That'll Be the Rei in a place dead heat--but neither able to
catch Believe This Bob, who prevailed by a long neck to half a length.
Joe Skowyra trains Believe This Bob, who scored his second
Open win at Tioga in as many starts.
Byron scored a driving hat trick on the 10-race card, as did
Jim Marohn, Jr.
Racing continues at Tioga on Friday (June 5) evening, with
post time scheduled for 6:15 p.m. Eastern time. The Friday card features
the third round of the United States vs. Spain amateur driving competition,
which visits two other tracks in New York State before concluding in the
Southern Tier.
