Stalking from off the pace, Good Boy finished with a flurry to take the $13,889 conditioned trotting feature at Batavia Downs on Friday, Oct. 3.
Good Boy and driver Ray Fisher Jr. got away fifth as Latavius (Jim Morrill Jr.) led to the quarter in :29 before relinquishing the lead to Handsome Hank (Joe Chindano Jr.), who pulled from second and went to the top. Handsome Hank then throttled down the half to a mere 1:00.1 before the real action began.
As the trotters proceeded onto the backstretch, Good Boy was out and rolling, making his way to third as three-quarters went in 1:29.1. Good Boy continued to gain ground around the last turn and was only a quarter-length off when they turned for home.
Heading down the stretch, Handsome Hank, Latavius and Good Boy were even across the track and matched strides to the wire, where Good Boy forged ahead by a half-length and won in 1:58.3, which was a seasonal mark for the winner. Latavius edged out Handsome Hank for the runner-up honours.
The win was the fourth win of the year in 22 starts for Good Boy, a six-year-old Lous Legacy-Gias Speedster gelding who is trained by Ryan Swift and owned by New York's Mary Warriner and Swift Racing Stable.
Good Boy was the odds-on favourite and paid $3.90 to win.
Driver Dave McNeight III and trainer David Russo both registered hat tricks to lead their respective categories during Friday's 12-race card.
Live harness racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Saturday, Oct. 4, with post time at 6 p.m. There will be a carryover of $959 in the Jackpot Super Hi-5 pentafecta in the 13th race.
(With files from Batavia Downs)