by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway
HAMBURG, N.Y. --- Southern Palms had to sit back and watch
patiently as four trotters enjoyed the lead during Buffalo Raceway's $10,500
Class A main event on Friday night (April 26). But when it counted the most, at
the wire, Southern Palms was the one who got the victory.
Able to weave through traffic during the final half mile,
Southern Palms (David McNeight III) found racing room in the 'lightning lane'
and edged by Empire Earl N by a neck in 2:01.0 over the sloppy track to notch
the $31.00 upset.
All This Commotion, Lucky Guess, Are You In and Empire Earl
N all had a taste of the top during the mile while Southern Palms was mired in
seventh. Finding different paths down the backstretch the final time, Southern
Palms positioned himself perfectly in the dash to the finish line.
There was plenty of room in the passing lane for Southern
Palms and he was able to catch the stubborn Empire Earl N (Jim Morrill Jr.) in
the shadow of the wire. Are You In (Kevin Cummings) took third place.
Owned by Mike Torcello and trained by Gerry Sarama, Southern
Palms is a 6-year-old gelding who scored his first victory of the season in
seven attempts. The win pushed his 2019 earnings to $16.890 and $281,631
lifetime.
Kyle Cummings had his first triple of his young career while
Morrill Jr. had two victories on the night. Tammy Cummings, Kyle's mother, had
three training wins.
Racing will continue on Saturday evening with a 10-race
program scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. There's a $2,205 carryover in the Pick-5
which begins in the second race.
For more information including the latest news, race
replays, results, entries, upcoming promotions and simulcast schedule, go to www.buffaloraceway.com
