Tony Morgan, the 2008 dash win champion, is off to a flying start this years. After five wins Thursday, Morgan drove six winners on Saturday, January 3 including both feature race winners, pacer Bud and trotter Native Yankee at Dover Downs.
Sixth on the backstretch Morgan moved the now five-year-old Bud four wide at the three quarters and then chopped down the leaders in the stretch for a 1:53.3 victory in the $17,000 4&5-Year-Old pace. Owned by Matt Bailey, Walt Benton and trainer Joe Johnson, the altered son of Matts Scooter-Sodys Memory won for the second straight start and third time in his last four outings. Zachary Lou (Brandon Givens) finished third, but was placed second when Hayden Abbe N (Ross Wolfenden) made an untimely break in deep stretch and was placed third.
In the feature trot, Larry Baron, Dave Rovine and Green Racing Inc.'s Native Yankee scored his first win as a four-year-old after being in the first three finishers in 17 of 20 starts in 2008. Morgan piloted the 1:59 victory in a $14,000 4&5-Year-Old trot. The Yankee Glide-Native American bay horse was followed by Yarborough Hanover (Vice Copeland), second, and Indian Hill Mojoe (Ron Hill), third, in an eight-horse field.
(Dover Downs)