by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway
HAMBURG, N.Y. --- Gia's Surreal ($5.30) went from last to
first and collected her third straight win in the $11,500 Class A-Open Handicapped
Pace for the fillies and mares with a head victory over Blacknsweet Adda A in
1:55.0 at Buffalo Raceway on Wednesday evening (July 8).
After a fourth place finish in her initial start of the
season back on June 3, Gia's Surreal (John Cummings Jr.) has been dynamite
since then with a powerful late closing kick which has allowed her to roll to
three consecutive scores.
Blacknsweet Adda A (Kevin Cummings) managed to take control
of the front end and posted fractions of :28.0, :57.1 and 1:26.1 over the
fast track. Gia's Surreal rode the tailgate from sixth but put herself
three-wide turning for home and drove past Blacknsweet Adda A late
while Lady London (Ray Fisher Jr.) took the show position.
Co-owned by trainer Jim Graham, Lee Winters, John Mariano
and Ed Peron, it was the third victory in four tries for the 4-year-old mare
Gia's Surreal (So Surreal-Nancy Irene). The triumph increased her 2020 bankroll
to $18,130 and $169,691 lifetime.
In the $11,500 Class A-Open Handicap Trot, it appeared that
it was going to be another heavyweight battle between the boys, Bred For
Greatness and Lougazi, but someone forgot to tell the lone mare in the race,
Victoria Swan.
Grabbing the lead just before the opening quarter, Victoria
Swan (Drew Monti) left the boys in the dust and notched an impressive three
length win over Bred For Greatness (Kevin Cummings) in a seasonal best 1:57.2.
Noble Legend (Billy Davis Jr.) took the show position.
Bred For Greatness took the lead off the starting gate but
Victoria Swan wanted no part of that strategy. Taking the top, Victoria Swan
put up splits of :29.3, :58.3 and 1:28.1 and that proved to be more than
enough to take the starch out of the boys.
Co-owned by RBH Ventures, Inc. and Spagnola Racing LLC, the
4-year-old mare is trained by Sabrina Shaw. It was the fourth victory for
Victoria Swan (Swan For All-Victoria Sahbra) who has earned $22,604 on the
campaign and $119,639 in her career.
Davis Jr. completed the evening with four wins in the sulky
with Monti posting a triple. Graham, Maria Rice and Shaw all had a pair of
training victories.
Racing will resume at 6 p.m. on Saturday evening with a
13-race card scheduled.
For more information including the latest news, race
replays, entries and results, go to www.buffaloraceway.com
