There have been a lot of questions
regarding the older trotters and just who would assume command of the division. After Saturday night, Resolve answered all
those questions and jumped to the head of the class, winning the TVG Free For
All Trotting Championship in 1:51.4 for Ake Svanstedt.
In similar fashion to his win in the
final preliminary leg last week, Resolve moved to the lead shortly after the
opening quarter, which was reached in 27 seconds by longshot DW’s NY Yank. Once on the lead, Resolve was allowed to
relax.
The same could not be said for E L
Titan who got caught in some traffic down the backstretch and ended up three
wide, trotting toward the half mile. Tim
Tetrick guided E L Titan to the first over position after racing three wide,
crossing in front of Obrigado with The Bank in the outer flow. But Resolve was able to back the field down
with a 29.3 second quarter, reaching the half-mile in 56.3. E L Titan, in the
final start of his career was applying pressure, but Ake Svanstedt had plenty
of horse in front of him and Resolve began to edge away, trotting past
three-quarters in 1:25. The stretch drive
was a mere formality as Resolve began to pour it on, winning by three lengths
in the end, trotting a final quarter of 26.4 to complete the mile in
1:51.4.
“He’s a very good horse,” said
owner/trainer Ake Svanstedt. “He is
getting closer and closer to Sebastian K with every start. He is just a four year old beating the older
horses, he should be really good next year.”
Obrigado held the runner-up position
while Flanagan Memory rallied from last to be third.
The win was the fourth of the season
for Resolve. He finishes his four year
old campaign with earnings of $706,938 this season.
Resolve was trained and driven by Ake
Svanstedt for owner Hans Enggren.
Boston Red Rocks Makes His Case For Divisional Honors
Going into the Breeders Crown Final,
Boston Red Rocks wasn’t on anyone's radar in terms of the two year old pacing
championship. It is safe to say that
over the past month, that has changed.
Sent off as the even-money favorite,
Boston Red Rocks was allowed to settle mid-pack while elimination winner, Big
Top Hanover established the pace through an opening quarter in 27-seconds. When the field straightened away in the
backstretch, driver Tim Tetrick popped the plugs and Boston Red Rocks unleashed
his turn of foot and flew to the lead, reaching the half-mile in a sharp
55-seconds. The outer flow was slow to
develop, but that didn’t prevent the race favorite from sprinting a 27.3 third
quarter, with the 8/5 second choice Big Top Hanover on his back. Into the stretch, Boston Red Rocks got
separation on the field and reached for the line, holding off the other
elimination winner Katies Rocker to win in a lifetime best 1:50.3.
The win was the fourth in nine starts
for the two year old son of Rocknroll Hanover. Tim Tetrick has been impressed with the colt
over his past few starts. “He doesn’t do his best work on the front end, it’s
really not where he wants to be,” said Tetrick.
“But, I knew I had to go forward off the gate. He really likes to chase horses though.” Looking ahead to next year, Tetrick said the
upside is there. “He can shoot for the
skies next year.”
Boston Red Rocks is trained by Steve
Elliot for owners Peter Blood and Rick Berks.
Katies Rocker was second and Big Top
Hanover held on to the show spot.
Win Photo Cannot Separate Winners of Valley Victory
They say there are few moments in
sports that can rival the photo finish and the $489,400 Valley Victory Final
certainly was representative of that statement.
In the end, the win photograph couldn’t decide a winner, because the
noses of Dog Gone Lucky and Make Or Miss hit the wire together, a dead heat in
the richest race of the night.
For Dog Gone Lucky, the win belonged
to Chuck Sylvester and for Make Or Miss, the story was his young pilot Joe Bongiorno. The irony, Sylvester was winning
Hambletonians before Bongiorno was born and now they both set their eyes on
harness racing’s greatest prize in 2016.
Dog Gone Lucky made an aggressive move
to the lead, after Mavens Way made a break after a quarter in 27 seconds. In the meantime, Make Or Miss had nearly 10
lengths to make up, trotting in eighth position down the backstretch. Then, the outer flow began to develop as Taco
Tuesday committed first over passed the half in just 57 seconds, a 30-second
second quarter. Marion Marauder picked up that cover and Make Or Miss tracked
the pair on the far turn while Dog Gone Lucky reached three-quarters in
1:26. Dog Gone Lucky opened up a clear
lead in the stretch after a 59-second middle half, but just as he did, Make Or
Miss found his best stride and put that electric turn of foot on display as he
began to reel in the favorite. However, the wire was also coming quickly and it
came just as both noses hit the wire, a dead heat in 1:54.
Joe Bongiorno was nearly speechless in
the winner’s circle. “This is beyond
amazing, I can’t believe it,” said Bongiorno.
“I just want to thank all the connections for giving me the opportunity,
this is the best moment in my life.” Not
to be out-done, trainer Chuck Sylvester reminded that he isn’t done yet. “I’m not retired yet,” Sylvester joked. “These horses will get a well deserved break
and hopefully we’ll back (for the Hambletonian) next year.
The win was the first major stakes win
for Bongiorno and the fifth win in the Valley Victory for Sylvester. It was the second victory for Make Or Miss,
the son of Donato Hanover who now has earnings of over $223,000 while Dog Gone
Lucky won for the seventh time and his fifth in a row, with his earnings now
beyond a half-million dollars.
Make Or Miss is trained by Ron Burke
for Burke Racing Stable, Our Horse Centes Stables, Weaver Bruscemi and Jerry
and Theresa Silva. Dog Gone Lucky was
driven by Corey Callahan for trainer Chuck Sylvester and owners Amy Lynn
Stoltzfus and Charles E Stansley.
Mission Brief Concludes Season with a Statement
The buzz around the $144,000
Continentalvictory was centered around two fillies, Mission Brief and Wild
Honey, hoping to earn divisional honors with a compelling performance. Mission Brief seized that opportunity and
performed like a champion. Sent off as
the prohibitive 1/9 choice, Mission Brief was hustled to the lead early in the
mile and it was a lead she would never relinquish.
Sprinting past a quarter in 27.4,
Mission Brief and her pilot Yannick Gingras kicked away from Wild Honey down
the backstretch and Wild Honey felt whip taps from her driver John Campbell
just to try to keep up. In the meantime,
Mission Brief was trotting smoothly on the lead past the half-mile in 56
seconds and she began to open up on the field on the far turn, reaching
three-quarters in 1:24.1 while leading the field by four lengths. From there, Mission Brief had the Meadowlands
homestretch all to herself and she trotted a 27.2 final quarter under no urging
to win the Continentalvictory in 1:51.3 in the final start of her season, a win
that put Mission Brief past $1 Million this season.
“She’s the best trotter in training,”
exclaimed driver Yannick Gingras in a post-race interview. “No disrespect to
any of the older trotters, but I wish she was in that race tonight. I don’t think any of them want any part of
her.”
Ron Burke was beaming with pride in
the winner’s circle as well. “She’s the
best horse I’ve ever had,” said Burke.
“Next year is going to be tough, she is going to face all the good ones
and I am not going to duck anyone. We
are going to find out if she is as good as we all think she is.”
With the win, Mission Brief concludes
her season with 10 wins from 14 starts and earnings of $1,001,317. For her career, the star filly has 19 wins
from 27 races and earnings of nearly $1.6 Million. She is owned by Burke Racing Stable, Our
Horse Cents Stables, Jerry and Theresa Silva and Weaver Bruscemi. Wild Honey completed the exacta with Kelsey’s
Keepsake and Lady Winona completing the field.
