Fox Valley Sly, who finished out of the money in all three early legs of the VHHA Pacing Series, pulled a stunning upset in Wednesday’s $9,000 final leg at Colonial Downs over a sloppy track
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The four-year-old Richess Hanover gelding, sent off at 36-1, completed a near wire-to-wire effort in the 1-1/4 mile finale in 2:25.2. Here Comes Cruiser grabbed the early lead while Fox Valley Sly paced second on the outside, and after a :29.1 opening quarter, Corey Braden directed the eventual winner to the front and he never looked back. Fox Valley Sly went on to trigger respective fractions of :59.3, 1:27.2 and 1:55.4 before crossing the wire 1-1/2 lengths ahead of runners-up Beyond Perfection and Overseer NZ.
The winner, trained by Richard Bertrand for owner Douglas Flores of Sacramento, California, paid $75.20 to win. Dustin Ingraham's A Fool For Mark, who started the fall meet with five wins in six starts, including a pair in early VHHA division legs, struggled for the second straight time in the series as a heavy betting choice. After finishing fifth a week ago at 1-9 odds, the five-year-old Western Ideal gelding repeated with a fifth place finish Wednesday as the 4-5 choice.
Fox Valley Sly was overlooked for obvious reasons. He broke stride at the start in a trio of early meet outings and never had a chance. When the VHHA series went to the 1-1/4 mile distance though, Fox Valley Sly stayed flat and finished fourth, then competed twice more before Wednesday’s finale without making a break.
(Colonial Downs)