'Artrageous' Night For Stafford Jr.
Artrageous recorded her 20th win when taking the $20,000 Mares Open at Harrington Raceway on Tuesday, Oct. 22 with a 1:52.4 mile. It was one of six driving wins on the card for the meet's leading driver Art Stafford Jr.
Delishka N led the field from post 6 to the opening quarter mile in :27.2 while Artrageous sat second. Heart Of The Ocean started the outer flow traffic towards the half in :56.2 while Delishka N maintained the advantage to three-quarters in 1:24.4. In the stretch pocket-sitting Artrageous utilized the passing lane to narrowly beat Delishka N while Cruzinforavictory closed late for third.
Trained by Andrew Stafford, the five-year-old Art Major mare notched her seventh win of the year for owners Bonnie Benson, John Johannsen, Stafford and Holly Case. He paid $4.20 to win.
While Stafford Jr.’s wins were scattered throughout the card, his sixth victory came in the 13th aboard his own Calvin K ($6.40) who was a 1:56 winner in his local debut. Stafford Jr. trains and co-owns Calvin K with his father, Arthur Stafford.
Stafford Jr. had long clinched his first driving title at Harrington but will formerly be recognized on closing night Oct. 23.
The training race remains undecided as Joe Columbo maintains a slim lead over Mike Hall.
Allan Davis, previous Harrington driving champ, also had three wins on the card. Jon Roberts had a driving double for the second straight evening.
(Harrington Raceway)