Yannick Gingras was called into work on his birthday, and he clearly made the most of it thanks in large part to his gate-to-wire score in the Hambletonian Oaks with Manchego.
The Jimmy Takter-trained Manchego rolled to the lead and got away with first-half fractions of :27.2 and :55.4. Plunge Blue Chip popped the pocket before they went into the final turn, but Manchego kept her at bay at the three-quarter pole in 1:23.2.
Phaetosive rallied three-wide as the fillies entered the lane, and she also fell short. Manchego sprinted home in :26.3 to win over Phaetosive in a stakes record clocking of 1:50. Plunge Blue Chip was third.
It marked the fifth consecutive win in the Hambletonian Oaks for the duo of Gingras and Takter -– an unprecedented accomplishment. Manchego is now 5-for-7 this year after going 12-for-12 in her freshman campaign. The career winner of $1,272,620 is owned by Black Horse Racing, John Fielding and Herb Liverman.
Be sure to check out the rest of the coverage from Hambletonian Day in the 2018 Hambletonian Day News Centre.