Always B Miki Equals World Record

The 2016 edition of the $500,000 Ben Franklin lived up to its hype with a stellar cast of Free-For-All pacers producing a world record equalling performance on Sun Stakes Saturday (July 2) at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. Always B Miki ultimately held off Freaky Feet Pete and Wiggle It Jiggleit in a battle of the elimination winners.

Always B Miki ($5.20) completed a sweep of his elimination and the final with back-to-back 1:47 world record miles for a five-eighth-mile track. The time matches Sweet Lou’s record that was set in the Ben Franklin final two years ago.

The anticipation for this year's Ben Franklin stemmed from Always B Miki and Freaky Feet Pete producing world records in last week's eliminations and fellow top-ranked elim winner Wiggle It Jiggleit joining them to face off for the first time in a race. Not to mention, the field of 10 consisted of seven horses that have won in 1:48 or faster.

Wiggle It Jiggleit (Montrell Teague) was the first of the heavyweights to fire in the final from post three with Freaky Feet Pete (Trace Tetrick), who won his elimination in a 1:47.1 world record for a four-year-old pacing horse on a five-eighth-mile track, sprinting out from post six to take command after the first eighth of a mile. Meanwhile, David Miller also had Always B Miki advancing outside from post seven and they cleared to command past the :25.4 first quarter mark.

As Always B Miki raced to the half in :53, Wiggle It Jiggleit tipped out and moved up alongside the leader. They battled head-to-head past three-quarters in 1:19.2 and turned for home with Freaky Feet Pete shooting through the passing lane and Mel Mara (Corey Callahan) rallying wide outside from fourth after second over Always At My Place (Yannick Gingras) gapped cover. Down the stretch, Always B Miki ultimately held off Freaky Feet Pete to win by three-quarters of a length while Wiggle It Jiggleit finished two lengths behind in third over Mel Mara.

"I didn't think that I would be on the lead by the half," said David Miller after the race. "I definitely wanted to be close to them other two, for sure, so I did score him [down before the race] and got him a little wound up. I thought there would be a few more inside of me pushing off pretty hard, but I didn't figure on lining up and cutting it.

"We were pacing pretty hard up the backstretch there and both of us looked like we were pretty comfortable. Around the last turn, I asked my horse and he went on and finished it off.

"I expected Wiggle It Jiggleit to come back, but 'Miki' raced very well, he raced very tough, as we were hoping he would."

Jimmy Takter trains the five-year-old son of Always A Virgin and Artstopper for his wife Christina and co-owners Bluewood Stable and Roll The Dice Stable.

Luck Be Withyou ($6.60) put on a show of his own in the $75,000 Franklin Consolation. With the inside post position, driver George Napolitano Jr. fired last year's Ben Franklin champion off the gate forcing favourite Rockin Ron (Yannick Gingras) into the two-hole and repelling outsider Limelight Beach (Jim Morrill Jr.) through opening panels of :25.4 and :52.4. The five-year-old son of Western Ideal out of Trim Hanover then raced past three-quarters in 1:19.4 and held clear on top down the lane en route to a 1:47.4 career-best victory for trainer Chris Oakes and owner John Craig of North York, Ont. Cooperstown (Scott Zeron) followed one and three-quarter length behind in second along the pylons while Rockin Ron finished third after pulling the pocket in the stretch.

Pure Country ($4.80) added another sophomore stakes title to her resume with a victory in the first major Sun Stakes Saturday event of the night, the $300,000 James M. Lynch Memorial for three-year-old pacing fillies.

Pure Country matched American Jewel and Fancy Desire's Lynch stakes record of 1:49.2 after being parked through the first half and holding off her pursuers.

As the parked out Darlinonthebeach (David Miller) worked to clear early leader I Said Diamonds (Matt Kakaley) past the :27 opening quarter, driver Brett Miller had Pure Country advancing from post seven and cleared to command at the half in :54.2. Blue Moon Stride (Andrew McCarthey) had followed the 8-5 favoured elimination winner and dropped into a two-hole opening as they raced to three-quarters in 1:22.1. Down the stretch, Blue Moon Stride tipped back out, but could not catch Pure Country, who prevailed by half a length and lowered her lifetime mark by one-fifth of a second. Lindwood Beachgirl (Yannick Gingras) finished third over I Said Diamonds.

Pure Country also won the Miss Pennsylvania earlier this season at Pocono as well as the Fan Hanover Stakes at Mohawk Racetrack prior to a sweep of her Lynch elimination and the final.

"She's pure class," said Jimmy Takter, who trains the Somebeachsomewhere-Western Montana filly for Diamond Creek Racing. "Every time she comes into a serious game, it seems like she just gets it done. She's just classy."

In the $50,000 Lynch Consolation, favourite Call Me Queen Be ($3.40) and driver Scott Zeron followed the cover of Sail To The Beach (Eric Goodell) down the backstretch and overtook that filly down the lane for the two-length victory. Ross Croghan trains the winning Somebeachsomewhere-Preppy Party Girl filly, who equalled her lifetime mark of 1:50.3 for owners Dana Parham and the Let It Ride Stables Inc.

Racing Hill ($3.20) gave driver Brett Miller back-to-back Sun Stakes Saturday victories as he secured the lead early and powered home to a career-best 1:49 win in the $500,000 Max C. Hempt Memorial for three-year-old male pacers.

With the inner advantage over three early leavers, Racing Hill assumed the lead through a contested :25.4 first quarter. After taking a second quarter breather to the half in :54.4, the 3-5 favourite rebuffed a first over challenge from his fellow elimination winner, Control The Moment (Randy Waples), through three-quarters in 1:22 and powered home to a two and a half length victory. JK Will Power (Yannick Gingras) followed in the pocket to finish second and Boston Red Rocks (Tim Tetrick) was third, with Control The Moment fourth.

"The last thing that I wanted to happen in that race was for Control The Moment to get to the front and then me be first over on Control The Moment. I did not want the race to go like that," said Miller of his early racing strategy with the Tony Alagna trainee. "I either wanted to be on the front or sitting in the two-hole behind Control The Moment.

"They actually beat me off the gate, but they couldn't get crossed over, so I kind of got lucky."

Owned and bred by Hamilton, Ont. resident Tom Hill, the Roll With Joe-Chasing Ideals colt was a runner-up in the North America Cup prior to lowering his lifetime mark with back-to-back victories in his Hempt elimination and the final.

"This colt here, he's so handy," noted Miller. "He just showed there that he can go such fast fractions and then he can go slow fractions. That's what makes him a very good horse, he's so handy."

Hambletonian hopeful Southwind Frank ($2.40) delivered as the favourite in the $500,000 Earl Beal Jr. Memorial for three-year-old trotters to complete the stakes action.

Southwind Frank and driver Yannick Gingras left from post seven and cleared Trolley (Marcus Miller), who had inherited the lead during the :27.3 first quarter when Brooklyn Hill (David Miller) broke stride leaving three-wide and Hollywood Highway (John Campbell) made a miscue and was taken off the front. From there, Southwind Frank carved out middle splits of :56.2 and 1:24.4 with elimination winner Dayson (Jim Morrill Jr.) coming only within a length of the leader before breaking stride. Southwind Frank then cruised home to win in 1:52.4 with Trolley all-out in second two and a quarter lengths behind. Bar Hopping (Tim Tetrick), a neck elimination winner over Southwind Frank last week, came on for third.

"I just let the dust settle. I wasn't sure actually what I was going to do, they were marching pretty good," said Gingras of his early strategy. "I was going to try to maybe get away in front of Scott [Zeron and Reigning Moni] and race him from behind, but then obviously David's horse made a break and John's made a break so that changed everything.

"He was a completely different horse. Last week, looking back at it, he was a little anxious in the post parade, which he's never done before. But I did score him down last week, so I kind of put the blame on that, but tonight he was so relaxed and he felt like his old self. Up the backstretch today, he was really latching on to me like he used to do. Just last week was a little blip in the road and thankfully it was just an elimination."

Ron Burke trains the Muscle Hill-Flawless Lindy colt for owner Southwind Frank Partners.

After the $75,000 Beal Consolation favourite Lagerfeld (Yannick Gingras) broke stride racing in third at the half, Milligans School ($21.80) journeyed first over and pulled off the 9-1 upset. Rebounding from a pair of recent miscues of his own, the Yankee Glide-Tori Ann colt was back on track, scoring in a career-best clocking of 1:53.2 for owner Stroy Inc. and the husband and wife, driver and trainer duo of Andy and Julie Miller.