Champs Folly became the first colt to find the chink in the armour of Dial Or No Dial, who saw his four-race win streak come to a grinding halt in this afternoon's $156,940 Battle of Freehold for two-year-old pacers.
The rookie son of Artiscape rallied from just off the pace for driver David Miller, who engineered the 6-1 upset in the six-horse affair.
Mcardles Star took the field to the quarter pole in :26.4 before feeling pressure from the 1-5 favourite, Dial Or No Dial. That colt parked past the three-eighths pole before clearing to the top, and once in charge he laid down panels of :56 and 1:25.1.
Champs Folly was first over up the backstretch, but managed to drop into the two-hole around the final turn. Miller angled the colt into the three-wide path at the head of the lane and used a strong late surge to score the win in a career-best clocking of 1:54.2.
Precious Medal (Andy Miller) was second best and Mc Idle (John Campbell) rounded out the top three. Dial Or No Dial succumbed to pressure at the head of the lane and wound up finishing fourth.
The victory was a maiden-breaking effort for the George Berkner trainee, who bumped his bankroll to $105,095 with the win. The colt now boasts a 1-4-0 record in his first six starts for owner Martin Goldman of North Caldwell, New Jersey.