Parked for the opening three-eighths, Perlucky showed plenty of grit in persevering and capturing Wednesday’s $17,600 Open Handicap Trot at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows.
Perlucky got the worst of a five-ply battle for the early lead, but once on the point, he didn’t let the outside challengers get close. The six-year-old Lucky Chucky-Paper Girl gelding held off the Lightning Lane challenge of Keystone Chaos by three-quarters of a length to score in 1:55 over a “good” surface for Ronnie Wrenn Jr. Just Like Magic was third.
It was the first win of the year in only his third start for Perlucky, who lost a victory to disqualification last week. Perlucky soared over $500,000 in career earnings for trainer Ron Burke and owners Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi LLC and Phillip Collura.
Aaron Merriman collected four wins on the 12-race card while Dave Palone, Wrenn and Burke each fashioned a triple.
(The Meadows)