Huntsville, the 9-5 morning line favourite, will start from Post 4, while Fear The Dragon, the 2-1 second choice, will start from Post 3 in Saturday’s $400,000 final of the Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids at the Meadows.
The powerhouse Adios Day card will begin at noon and will include six Grand Circuit stakes. The Adios, which has been carded as Race 11, has an approximate post time of 4 p.m.
By winning last week’s Adios eliminations, the connections of Huntsville and Fear The Dragon earned the right to select their post positions (a draw on Monday gave the connections of Fear The Dragon the first choice). All other slots were determined by a random draw.
Trainer Brian Brown, who characterized Fear The Dragon’s performance last week as “dull,” said Monday that he expects a return to form this week.
“We’ve been turning him out a lot,” Brown said. “I took him to the field today, and he was anything but dull. I think he’ll be sharper this week. A sign of a good horse is that he wins when he’s supposed to win, so I was happy that he won and toughed it out. But it still worries the heck out of you. He’s never raced like that.”
Trainer Ron Burke, who sends three into the final, drew Posts 1 (RJP), 5 (Eddard Hanover) and 7 (Miso Fast).
The complete Adios field – in post position order with drivers, trainers and morning line odds – appears below.
1 – RJP – Yannick Gingras – Ron Burke – 9-2
2 – Highalator – Victor Kirby – Jeffrey Long – 20-1
3 – Fear The Dragon – David Miller – Brian Brown – 2-1
4 – Huntsville – Tim Tetrick – Ray Schnittker – 9-5
5 – Eddard Hanover – TBA – Ron Burke – 20-1
6 – Western Hill – Dave Palone – Tony Alagna – 8-1
7 – Miso Fast – Matt Kakaley – Ron Burke – 15-1
8 – Blood Line – Mark MacDonald – Jimmy Takter – 12-1
9 – Hurricane Beach – Daniel Dube – Luc Blais – 15-1
(Meadows)