The Dexter Dunn show continued in the Breeders Crown eliminations for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings on Saturday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Dunn engineered a pylon-skimming score in the first of two $32,500 eliminations for the Glamour Boys aboard Dancin Lou, who was coming off a victory in the Tattersalls Pace at The Red Mile for trainer Tahnee Camilleri.
"That was a really good field tonight and I'm just so proud of that little colt," said Camilleri, who revealed the connections made the decision to come to the Breeders Crown in the winner's circle at The Red Mile. "I'm very thankful it's panned out so well for the owners.
"I haven't come from a racing background and it's been an uphill struggle to get recognized. To have a horse like this, it's great for my career and I'm just thankful the owners gave me a shot."
O'Brien Award winner Stag Party (Doug McNair) hustled off the gate to establish the early lead but was looped by North America Cup champion and 4-5 favourite Captain Crunch (Scott Zeron) after the :26.1 quarter. Supplemental entry Century Farroh (Sylvain Filion) then rushed to the lead at the :55.4 half-mile mark with Air Force Hanover (Simon Allard) in hot pursuit. Those two battled head-to-head past three-quarters in 1:23.2 but the ground-saving Dancin Lou sought room along the inside and dove through down the lane, kicking clear late to score by 2-1/2 lengths in 1:50.1 with a :25.4 final frame.
Sent postward as the 5-1 third choice, Dancin Lou paid $12.20 to win. Meadowlands Pace winner Best In Show (Bob McClure) came on for second-place ahead of Captain Crunch, with longshots Fixed Idea (Randy Waples) and Semi Tough (Matt Kakaley) closing to snag fourth and fifth-place.
The top five finishers in each elimination for the Glamour Boys will advance to the final.
"He was good in his last start at Lexington but he was even better tonight. We took our shot, took a bit of luck and he got a run up the inside there and he really exploded," said Dunn. "He's a versatile little guy, tonight he got away fourth, sat in there nice and he really sprinted home with a good last quarter."
The Sweet Lou-Dancewiththebest colt, who has earned 10 of his 11 wins this year, is owned by David Kryway of Amherstburg, Ont., and 1362313 Ontario Ltd. of Windsor, Ont.
Dunn completed a sweep of the Glamour Boy eliminations with the Chris Ryder stable star Bettors Wish downing supplemental entry Southwind Ozzi for the 1:51 victory by 1-1/2 lengths.
The streaking Bettors Delight-Lifetime Star colt is owned by Ryder, Bella Racing Ltd., Fair Island Farm Inc., and Bettors Wish Partners.
After Little Brown Jug champion Southwind Ozzi (Brian Sears) looped early outside leaver Cant Beach That (David Miller) at the :27.1 quarter and reached the half in :56.3, Dunn sent Bettors Wish on the attack. The 1-2 favourite went by Southind Ozzi past three-quarters in 1:24.2 en route to his fourth straight stakes win.
He's won a dozen races and has finished no worse than second in 16 sophomore starts.
"You can't help but love him, really. He's such a cool horse, he's had a great year, and I think tonight's actually the best he's felt out post parading and that. He's just an awesome horse," said Dunn, who won six races on the card including five of Saturday's Breeders Crown eliminations. "And I've given him some pretty hard runs too, the poor wee fella. He just keeps bouncing back. That's a credit to Chris and the team for the job they do."
"Obviously the relationship [Dunn has with Bettors Wish] is right on," praised Ryder. "Coming into this week, Bettors Wish had a good two weeks in Kentucky and after that I thought, 'Well, it's my job that he's not messed up this week' and just keep my fingers crossed for another week. It's been a great year and we just love having him. He's a beautiful horse.
"He doesn't need that much training, he's easy on himself ... we had a little bit of a hiccup with a foot this week but that came right. He's an easy keeper, it's not that difficult. It's a blessing to have him."
Covered Bridge (James MacDonald), De Los Cielos Deo (Yannick Gingras) and Bronx Seelster (Simon Allard) earned the last spots in the final, finishing third through fifth.
Post positions for the $600,000 Three-Year-Old Colt Pace will be drawn at the Breeders Crown press conference on Tuesday, Oct. 22. The elimination winners will draw from posts one through five.
The 2019 Breeders Crown, presented by Libfeld-Katz Breeding Partnership, will be contested next weekend at Woodbine Mohawk Park with the championships for three-year-olds and up set for Saturday, Oct. 26.