Foiled Again did not disappoint at Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway on Saturday, Nov. 10, persevering freezing temperatures and an outside post position to collect his 106th victory while on his swan song tour.
Driver Chris Page fired the 14-year-old champion off the wings and picked up adversaries one at a time until finally clearing to the front at the :28.1 quarter. From there Foiled Again fronted the field through the remainder of the mile, stopping subsequent timing stations in :57.2, 1:25.4 and capping the mile in 1:54.2. He finished three-quarter lengths ahead of Communicator with Gareth Nourrir finishing third off a pocket trip.
“It’s really cool to drive a horse that some people call the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time),” said Page in the winner’s circle. “He was all out tonight to win from the nine-hole, but he gives you everything he’s got every time out. There may never be another one like him.”
Foiled Again was his usual fantastic ambassador for the sport during his final stop in Ohio on his farewell tour. He did a meet-and-greet photo session with patrons for 15 minutes before the first race, gave a two-seater jog cart ride to fifth-grade school teacher Alex Johnson—the lucky winner of a drawing—and then went out an hour later and prevailed to the delight of most fans as the even-money favorite.
“My students will be very excited Monday when I show them pictures and tell them what I got to do over the weekend,” said Johnson.
Hollywood Dayton presented Foiled Again with a bouquet of carrots and a commemorative satin blanket. His connections were presented with a plaque thanking them for the memories Foiled Again has given so many harness fans on his farewell tour.
“I had no problem filling the Foiled Again Farewell Tour race,” said Race Secretary Gregg Keidel. “We offered a $300 bonus to all horses drawn in and almost doubled the normal purse. I don’t know if that was necessary or not, but we had 13 eager trainers drop horses in the box. It seemed like all that got in were thrilled to get an opportunity to race against such a legendary horse before he retires.”
In the co-featured event of the night, Tookadiveoffdipper, driven by Dan Noble, went to the top and scored in 1:49.2. Once making the lead, Noble controlled the fractions and drew off to win by two-and-three-quarter lengths. Winwood Mac was second, while Granite was third.
Tookadiveoffdipper is trained by Virgil Morgan Jr., and owned by Jane Cross, Mark Cross, James Hepp and Mike Brink.
(With files from Dayton Raceway)