Fruit Snacker made amends for his break in stride last week as he held on gamely to win the $34,247 Open Handicap Trot at Bally’s Dover on Tuesday, March 24 for his fourth win in his last five starts.

There was a scramble for position early as A Blue Million (Montrell Teague) left from post five along with post-four starter Last Glow (Jack Parker Jr.) and Fruit Snacker (Tony Morgan), away from the outside post seven, but Benjamin Hanover (Tim Tetrick) sprinted along the pylons to protect rail position. Two of the outside challengers looked for seats into the first turn, but Fruit Snacker would not back down and bulldozed his way to the top after being parked out to the quarter in :27.2. Last Glow was unable to reach the pylons and continued to grind on the outside through the half in :56.

Last Glow began to tire at the midway point, and Arrowhead Hanover (Art Stafford Jr.) started to roll three-wide off his cover down the backstretch. The 2-1 favourite Benjamin Hanover waited patiently in the pocket while Fruit Snacker led to three-quarters in 1:24.1. Arrowhead Hanover clawed his way alongside the leader heading into the final turn and inched forward on the outside down the lane, but Fruit Snacker reached the line in time to win by a nose in 1:52.3. Benjamin Hanover was third.

Fruit Snacker, a four-year-old son of Dover Dan-First Avenue, is owned by Mark Howard of Federalsburg, Md. Will Reynolds trains the gelding, who is now six-for-nine on the season and 17-for-36 lifetime. The win price was $7.60.

“He raced terrific after being parked out and dug in late," Reynolds said after the win. "I was afraid of Benjamin Hanover racing in the pocket. This is probably [Fruit Snacker's] best race of the season. I give a lot of the credit to Mark Howard for finding him.”

Tim Tetrick drove six winners on the 15-race card. The Hall of Famer piloted That Ole Bar Stool ($4), Muscledover ($3.40), Saint K ($6), Somebody Special ($3.40), International Gift ($5.60) and Greenspan ($2.60) to victory. Tetrick leads the Dover standings with 86 victories, 30 ahead of Tony Morgan. He is 86-for-308 overall on the season.

The feature on Wednesday’s card at Dover will be the 8th-race $25,000 USD Fillies and Mares Open Handicap Pace. Jett Propelled, last week’s winner, must navigate the outside post eight. She faces Racin Hungry, who upset her two weeks ago.

(With files from Dover Downs)