by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway
HAMBURG, N.Y. --- It appeared that Bred For Greatness was going to have to settle for a tough luck second place finish in Buffalo Raceway's $11,500 Class A-Open Trot on Wednesday night (June 3) but a huge change in fortunes in deep stretch turned that disappointment into a victory.
Lougazi appeared to have nailed down the win but a costly break 30 yards from the wire allowed Bred For Greatness ($18.40) to snatch the unexpected victory.
Due to the miscue, Lougazi (Ray Fisher Jr.) was relegated to fifth while Noble Legend (Billy Davis Jr.) and Mighty Nicky (Drew Monti) were placed second and third respectively.
Noble Legend took command off the gate and posted splits of :28.3, :58.4 and 1:28.4. With a quarter mile to trot, Bred For Greatness (Jim Morrill Jr.) was first over and brought Lougazi in tow.
Lougazi took the lead in the stretch looked like he was headed off to the winner's circle but a break quickly changed those plans. Bred For Greatness, now a winner of six races in seven tries this season, benefited from the bobble and scored the decision in 1:58.3.
Co-owned by Steven Gross and trainer Mike Ohol, the 6-year-old gelded Bred For Greatness (Federal Flex-Wendy Woo) has now earned $30,690 this season and $126,971 lifetime.
In the $11,000 Filly and Mare Class A Open Pace, Protect Blue Chip ($7.30) went wire-to-wire to post a two length decision over Blue Bell Bonnie (David McNeight III) in 1:56.3 while the heavily favored H P Sissy (Morrill Jr.) took third.
There was a mad four-horse scramble for the lead at the start with Protect Blue Chip (Davis Jr.) able to come out on top. With splits of :28.2, :57.4 and 1:27.0, there were plenty of challengers poised to strike in the lane but no one had the answer for the pace setter.
Owned by Vogel & Wags Nags, Team Rice Racing and Adelphi Bloodstock, it was the second win in five appearances of the campaign for the 5-year-old mare Protect Blue Chip. Trained by Maria Rice, the victory upped her seasonal earnings to $16,750 and $103,754 lifetime.
Morrill Jr. completed the night with four wins while Fisher Jr., Davis Jr. and Kevin Cummings all doubled. Mike Ohol had a pair of training victories.
With no spectators on the grounds, Buffalo Raceway handled $617,809 for the 12-race card.
Buffalo Raceway Director of Operations Jon Cramer said, "We appreciate all the cooperation we received from the horsemen and to all the fans who wagered off track."
Racing will continue on Saturday evening with a 12-race program scheduled for 6 p.m.
For more information including the latest news, race replays, entries and results, go to www.buffaloraceway.com
