Driver Scott Zeron engineered the biggest upset in Breeders Crown history as three-year-old pacing gelding Sandbetweenmytoes got up in the final strides of a blanket finish to defeat Tall Dark Stranger and win the $500,000 Breeders Crown Final for three-year-old pacing colts & geldings on Saturday (Oct. 31) at Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing & Casino.
The three favourites were fastest off the gate as track record holder Cattlewash (David Miller) outstepped Warrawee Vital (Rob Fellows) to the lead with a sizzling :25.3 first quarter. The 1-2 choice and harness racing's top ranked horse, Tall Dark Stranger made a bid for the front from third. Miller took hold of Cattlewash and allowed Tall Dark Stranger to set the tempo. A spicy :52.3 half was followed by a 1:20.3 third quarter with No Lou Zing (Dexter Dunn) advancing first up into the homestretch.
As is his nature, Tall Dark Stranger would not let anyone by as the field swarmed to his outside and inside. It appeared as though he would repel the calvary charge of horses swarming him but out in the eight path Sandbetweenmytoes was airborne off a fourth-over trip. The finish was too close to call for announcer Steve Cross and the judges called for the photo to the mile, timed in 1:48.3.
The print determined that Sandbetweenmytoes got up to win by a head, at the colossal odds of 203-1. Tall Dark Stranger was a bang-up second with Cattlewash a solid third. The longest priced winner in Breeders Crown history, Sandbetweenmytoes paid $409.80, $54.80 and $15.80.
The Three-Year-Old Colt Pace is available around the 5:05:00 mark
A homebred owned by Jules Siegel's Fashion Farms LLC of New Hope, Pa., Sandbewteeenmytoes (Somebeachsomewhere - Galleria) won his seventh in 16 starts and his seasonal bankroll more than doubled with the victory to stand at $487,135. Trainer Jim Campbell felt the race set up perfectly for his gelding, and that he had the potential to contend.
"He had a good week, and before the race, Scotty and I talked it over," he said. "Where we were at, we had to hope for a hot pace up front. We got it, and Sandbetweenmytoes took advantage of it."
Despite the faith he had in Sandbetweenmytoes, Campbell was just as surprised by the end result as anyone:
"I wasn't confident [in the result] until they flashed his number up, because I watched one angle and thought we had a shot," he said. "Watching the race live, I couldn't tell...it was tight; he just happened to go the right way at the wire to get his nose up."
The Three-Year-Old Colt Pace was just one of the Breeders Crown Finals contested on Saturday's card. Visit the Breeders Crown News Centre for the rest of the recaps.