What a week for Linda Toscano. On Sunday evening, the trainer gave a gracious acceptance speech at her induction to the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in Goshen, NY and on Saturday night she stood in the winner’s circle after Best In Show pulled a 27-1 upset in the $682,650 Crawford Farms Meadowlands Pace.
It was the perfect bookend to a seven-day span she’ll never forget.
“This another one I never dreamed of,” Toscano said after becoming the first female trainer to win the Pace. “This is home for me. This is awesome.”
In a thrilling finish, Best In Show slipped through an opening on the rail to defeat his more heralded rivals. He got up by a head over Bettor’s Wish, the brave first-over challenger who couldn’t have raced much better.
Right in the mix was Workin Ona Mystery in third, with the pacesetting Captain Crunch, the Pepsi North America Cup winner and the 1-2 favourite in the Pace, a close-up fourth in the blanket finish.
The time was 1:48 on the warm evening for the track’s signature race.
Brian Sears, also a Hall of Famer, gave Best In Show a perfect ground-saving drive. Best In Show left alertly before readily yielding to let the favourites duke it out while settling into fourth.
“I knew they were racing pretty good,” Sears said. “It was all the horses to beat and they were going at it. I was pretty content. I wanted to sneak him around there a little bit. I got a little opening, and he fired for me.”
And he fired up the tote board.
Best In Show paid $56.20, $14.40 and $6.80. Bettors Wish returned $4.00 and $2.80. Workin Ona Mystery paid $3.80 to show.
The time was 1:48 after clipping through aggressive fractions of :26.2, :52.4 and a blazing 1:19.3 to the three-quarter pole.
It was fourth win in 12 starts for Best In Show, who competed in a non-winners of two races condition as recently as May.
“We knew he was a nice colt last year and he got a little colt sore on us,” Toscano said. “We shut him down, brought him back and he’s done everything right.”
Best In Show has been rapidly making up for that lost time.
The son of Bettors Delight out of Put On A Show earned $341,325 as a homebred for Richard P. Young & Joanne Young. He turned in a pair of second-place finishes in his previous two starts, an Ontario Sires Stakes and his Pace elimination behind Bettors Wish.
(Meadowlands)
To view results for Saturday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Saturday Results – Meadowlands.