Following loosely in third for the entire mile, Who Says That found late pace and rallied strongly to capture the $10,000 Fillies and Mares Open Pace at Batavia Downs on Wednesday evening (October 25).
Sportsmuffler (Jim Morrill, Jr.) left swiftly around Voltina (Kevin Cummings) and proceeded to take the field to the quarter in :27.2. At that point, Who Says That (Ray Fisher, Jr.) was a gapped third, about five lengths from the leader. The mares stayed in single file to the half when Hey Kobe (Denny Bucceri) came first-up and tried to approach the frontrunner. As the pack went by three-quarters in 1:26.1, the outer flow bid failed, allowing Voltina to pop the pocket from second and circle Sportsmuffler around the last turn. At the head of the stretch, Voltina cleared and looked like she was a winner, but Who Says That had stayed close behind Voltina and had plenty of pace left coming home to win by a length in 1:54.4.
It was the fourth win in the last eight starts and the sixth win of the year for Who Says That ($6.20), who now has earned $43,981 for owners Vogel & Wags Nags Stable, Chris Shambo and Jack Rice. The six-year-old daughter of Badlands Hanover is trained by Maria Rice.
In the $8,000 Fillies and Mares Open II, Sarah Cola (Billy Davis, Jr.) went wire-to-wire in 1:55.3, outduelling the winningest Standardbred in North America this year, Quicksilvercandy A (Larry Stalbaum) down the lane for a neck victory. Sarah Cola ($6.00) is owned by Giuseppe Micchia and Jim Graham, who also does the training.
Kevin Cummings led all drivers with four wins on the night while Billy Davis, Jr. was right behind him with three tallies.
(Batavia Downs)