Atta Boy Dan Triumphs In Open
Atta Boy Dan gave Yannick Gingras his fifth win of the night scoring a 1:49.4 victory in the $30,000 Open/Preferred Handicap Pace on Monday, Dec. 28 at Dover Downs.
For the 18th time this season, Atta Boy Dan recorded a victory. His 1:49.4 win in the $30,000 feature race was the fifth of the night for driver Yannick Gingras and second on the program for trainer Ron Burke and owners Burke Racing and Weaver Bruscemi.
The Western Terror-Dropitlikeitshot gelding had been racing and winning all over the Northeast since the fall. He won the second of his last three starts and fifth in his last nine, bringing his season record to 18 wins, six-times second with four thirds. From, 33 starts he had 28 in-the-money efforts in 2015.
Bushwacker (Corey Callahan) saw a two-race win streak end with a second-place finish and Dapper Dude (Vic Kirby) was third. Phil Your Boots was scratched.
Sweet Rock and Allan Davis made good use of starting from post one, scoring a 1:50.2 triumph wire-to-wire in the $27,500 Delaware Special Handicap. Mustang Art (Brett Miller) was second-best with Dont Ya Know (Gingras) third. The win was the second for Davis, driving for trainer Wayne Givens and owners Gary Calloway, Reginald Hazzard and Legacy Racing Of De Inc.
In the $18,500 3,4&5-Year-Old Open Handicap, the fastest clocking on the fast 15-race card came when Howard Taylor’s Major Uptrend, conditioned by Doug Lewis, negotiated the mile in a lifetime-best 1:49.1. It was the Sopmebeachsomewhere-Tricky Tooshie gelding’s 12th win of the year upping his season’s bankroll to $147,595
Ken Wood, Bill Dittmar and Steve Iaquinta’s Adventure Bound, with Gingras at the controls, never looked back in a 1:50.2 decisive victory take a $12,000 Male pace. Dedis Dragon (Kirby) was second in front of Fancy Colt (Tony Morgan). The Camluck-Unchained Speed gelding reached three digits for the season with earnings of $100,595 and $525,434 in his career.
Driver Gingras, trainer Burke, and owners Burke Racing, and Weaver Bruscemi struck earlier adding owner RTC Stables, as Speed Again (Gingras) rolled home in 1:50.3 to win a $14,500 Male Winners-Over pace. Papa Ray (Davis) was second with Soto (Kirby) third. An altered son of Dragon Again-Sand Speed, the six-year-old won for the fifth time this season lifting his lifetime earnings to $889,291.
Blazing Bobby Sox won for the third straight start scoring in 1:51.1 to win a 3,4&5-Year-Old Male pace for Art Stafford and son trainer/driver Art Stafford Jr. A four-year-old gelding by prolific The Panderosa-Liamatters, he has won four of his last five starts. Roll Big (Callahan) and Big Secret (Jonathan Roberts) were second and third, respectively.
Jerseylicious, Shine N Shimmer and Paradise Lost hook up in the $20,000 Mares Open Handicap feature on Tuesday, Dec. 29.
Dover Downs races only through Wednesday this week. No racing Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Sunday racing resumes on Sunday, Jan. 3 at 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday post time is 4:30 p.m.
(With files from Dover Downs)