Walter White, one of the Midwest’s most consistent cheque-getters in the Open trotting ranks, broke through at Miami Valley Raceway on Tuesday afternoon (Jan. 14) to capture the track’s $22,500 feature for squaregaiters in 1:54.1.
The eight-year-old winner of over a half-million dollars topped Sweet Mr Pinetucky and Whata Swan to shake a string of four consecutive place and show finishes at the top level.
Driver Jeremy Smith left enough to slip into third during the first half, timed in quarter-mile clockings of :28.3 and :56.4. Shortly thereafter, Smith and Walter White rushed outside to challenge the favoured pacesetter and eventual runner-up. Lapped on to the leader at the 1:25 station, the James Eaton trainee drew onto even terms by midstretch and surged ahead in the final strides.
Walter White paid $25.40 to win and the exacta with the public choice Sweet Mr Pinetucky returned $89.20. The winning son of Cantab Hall is owned by Robert Silberberg.
The final pair of Claim To Fame series out of the eight that are currently underway at Miami Valley kicked off with first leg action for $12,500 claiming mares and $8,000 claiming horses and geldings.
Dont Mach Mia and M E Radar Girl won the two mares splits in 1:54 and 1:54.1, respectively. Dont Mach Mia, driven by Trace Tetrick, beat Crazy Bad K and Sweet Western to the wire as an odds-on favourite. The five-year-old daughter of Mach Three was one of five entrants claimed out of the two nine-horse fields. She raced for owner Rene Allard and trainer Tyler George in the first leg, but will be part of the Larry Finn Stable in her next outing.
M E Radar Girl, driven by Brett Miller, made her first start from the Virgil Morgan Jr. Stable a winning one after a claim from a $10,000 event 11 days earlier during the first week of the Miami Valley meet. Co-owned by Carl Howard of Fazoli’s Restaurants fame, the seven-year-old Radar Sign lass bested Galyns Gift and Keystone Nikki in the first leg.
Winners in the quartet of $8,000 divisions for males were Colossal (Trace Tetrick, 1:54.1, $5.00), New Patrol (Chris Page, 1:53.3, $8.60), N Expense (Chris Page, 1:53.3, $9.00) and Putnams Attack (John DeLong, 1:53.2, $8.40). A total of nine horses including a lone winner (N Expense) were collared out of the four divisions via the claim box during first leg competition.
(Miami Valley Raceway)