Skyway Poncho and driver Tyler Smith swept by rivals late in the stretch en route to capturing the $20,000 Tubby Trimble Final on Thursday at Hoosier Park. The late closing event was open to Indiana sired three-year-olds and up

who were non-winners of $30,000 lifetime.

The duo rallied late to win their first start of 2012 after finishing second in both of the preliminary legs of the series.

Ricky Macomber urged Moveoutofmyway out of the gate quickly as they charged to the front from post four. The bettors’ second choice, A Sweet Ride, also left the gate alertly to settle second along the rail. Sam Widger had his sights set on the lead as he had the betting favourite, Royal Todd, out and battling for position through an opening panel of :28.3.

Royal Todd’s lead was short-lived as QB Killa and Pete Wrenn forced Royal Todd to take a seat in second and led the field through a half mile time of :57.1. Skyway Poncho and driver Tyler Smith sat mid pack for much of the race while the action continued on the front. Under urging from Hensley, A Sweet Ride powered up and pressured the leader to reach the front and find the three-quarter mile marker in 1:25.1.

The field began to fan out across the track as Smith sent Skyway Poncho three-wide around tiring cover. The three-year-old gelding opened up by two lengths on the field and pressed on to the wire, winning by 3-¼ lengths in a lifetime best effort of 1:54.1. Wilburs Z Tam battled gamely for second as Royal Todd and Sam Widger got up for the third place finish. Skyway Poncho paid $5.20 to win

“It looked like there was a lot of early speed in this race so I was hoping we could get a good trip off the pace,” Smith noted. “My colt has a tendency to get steppy so I have to be careful with him. He would’ve won last week but I got to asking a little too much from him and he made a break at the wire. He’s a green colt but has already shown he has plenty of ability, I was really happy with him tonight.”

Sired by Panspacificflight, Skyway Poncho has now won two of six lifetime starts and nearly doubled his lifetime earnings with the win as he pushed his bankroll over $20,000. Owned by Geis Enterprises, The Erv Miller Stable and Harvey Eisman, Skyway Poncho is trained by Erv Miller.

(Hoosier Park)