This Is The Plan defeated elimination winner Jimmy Freight at the wire in the $260,000 Hap Hansen Progress Pace on Thursday evening (November 29) at Dover Downs.

Tim Tetrick worked out the winning drive in rein to the three-year-old Somebeachsomewhere gelding for trainer Ron Burke, who co-owns as part of Burke Racing Stable LLC along with Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Silva Purnel And Libby, and Lawrence Karr.

Leaving from post three, This Is The Plan was the early leader through a :26 opening quarter before a parked out Jimmy Freight (Scott Zeron) cleared to command out of post seven.

Breeders Crown champion Dorsoduro Hanover (Matt Kakaley), also trained by Burke, began to advance first-up from fourth as the field raced in front of the grandstand with Thinkbig Dreambig (Yannick Gingras) following his cover.

The pressure was mounting as Jimmy Freight set middle splits of :55 and 1:22.3. Dorsoduro Hanover was nearly even with the pacesetter entering the final turn, while Thinkbig Dreambig rallied in the three-path and a third Burke trainee, Done Well (Corey Callahan), followed wide.

All the while, This Is The Plan followed in the pocket and waited for the stretch to pounce. Closing inside along the pylons, This Is The Plan collared slight favourite Jimmy Freight in the final strides for the 1:50.2 victory. Dorsoduro Hanover finished third ahead of Thinkbig Dreambig.

This Is The Plan has now won a quarter of his 20 sophomore starts for seasonal earnings of $467,891. Among his successes, This Is The Plan was a dead heat winner in the Matron Stakes mid-month at Dover Downs (posting a 1:49.1 career mark) and prior to that he won his Breeders Crown elimination before finishing third in the final at Pocono Downs -- all three starts in sloppy conditions.

Sent off at odds of 8-5 after hitting the board in the Progress elimination last week, This Is The Plan paid $5.40 to win.

He sports a career record reading 7-8-7 from 33 starts with a bankroll of $653,542.

Freshmen Face Off In Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund Finals

The Progress Pace undercard featured a quartet of $100,000 Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund Stakes finals for two-year-olds.

The filly trot division produced a repeat winner from Harrington even though the driver was a bit late getting in from Florida. Disco Soliel (CR Commando-CR Penney Lane) pulled first-over at the quarter and kept going to win by 6-3/4 lengths in 2:01.4 under the steady rein of owner/driver Rod Allen. It was her fourth win in six lifetime starts and the lion's share of the purse raised her bank account up to $120,800. The place filly was sentimental choice Star Time, owned by Shirley Shanda, trained by her daughter Tui Stone, and bred by Marv Bachrad’s Serendipity Stable.

The colt and gelding trotters were up next and the 1-5 favourite Embrace The Grind (Keystone Activator-My Embrace) was double wide to the quarter and never looked back to win by 6-1/4 lengths in 2:00.2, equalling his lifetime record. The colt is trained by his owner, Bobby Glassmeyer, and was driven by Jonathan Roberts. The breeders are Leigh and Tyler Raymer of Smyrna, Delaware. The place colt was Gettinziggywitit, driven by Corey Callahan, trained by the reinsman's dad Nick Callahan, and owned by Breakaway Racing of Greenwood, Delaware.

The first DSBF pace was for the fillies and this final was won by the one-horse stable of trainer Tim Torbert as Roddys At It Again (Roddys Bags Again-Terro Franco) prevailed by a nose in 1:56. She is the first horse of new owner Katie Killen, Tim’s fiancée. Longshot Golden Wigglet got up for second for Frank Deliberti’s Wiz Kid Stable.

The final DSBF race for 2018 was won by breeder and owner Jo Ann Looney-King’s Chillaxin Away (Roddys Bags Again-Shake Away) in gate-to-wire in 1:54.2, pushing his season’s earnings over $135,000 with his fifth win in nine starts. He is trained by Looney-King's husband, Jim King Jr., and was skillfully driven by leading reinsman Tim Tetrick. Dashiki sat the two-hole for the mile and finished there for driver Montrell Teague.

(With files from DSBF)