Luna Lovegood was caught on the outside to the opening quarter, but quickly cleared the lead before soaring home a winner in the $161,250 Matron Stakes for two-year-old trotting fillies on Monday evening, Nov. 11 at Dover Downs.
Dexter Dunn was back in the bike for trainer Marcus Melander, taking post four in the field of four trot fillies going to the gate. Kendra (Todd McCarthy) was the first to click the quarter in :28.3 with Luna Lovegood to her outside. After the opening quarter, Luna Lovegood opened up on the lead by two lengths, handling the half in :57.2 and three-quarters in 1:25. With ease, the filly trotted home to win by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:53.2. Kendra finished second and Halfadozen (Daniel Dube) completed the top three.
Holly Lane Stud East Ltd. owns the two-year-old daughter of Gimpanzee out of the Muscle Hill mare Southwind Venus. Luna Lovegood has won five races in nine starts, banking $345,548 in her young campaign to date. She paid $2.10 as the heavily backed favourite.
Lady Burg back on track with DSBF prelim score
After gait issues derailed her over the half-mile Harrington Raceway oval, Lady Burg got her bearings back by way of a lifetime-best 2:00.1 win in the second of two $27,778 Delaware Standardbred Breeders' Fund first-round preliminary events for two-year-old trotting fillies held Monday at Dover.
With trainer Traci Berry making the call to add hopples to Lady Burg and usual driver Pat Berry at the lines, the filly left enough from the pole position to secure the pocket behind 17-1 shot Indiana Star (Tony Morgan) through a :28.4 opening quarter before angling off the pegs and brushing to the fore with a circuit to go. After rating soft middle fractions of 1:00 and 1:30, the E L Platinum-Comical Dream filly edged away gradually off the home turn to evade a three-wide rally from Marino Bluestone (Jim Morand) by 2-1/2 lengths. Indiana Star, who gapped the pocket turning for home, narrowly held third over Kats Fancy (Cody Poliseno).
Now a three-time winner from five starts, Lady Burg competes as a homebred for J. Craparotta & P. Berry Racing LLC. She paid $2.80 to win.
In the first DSBF split, 1-2 favourite Song Master and driver Cody Poliseno clicked off splits of :28.2, :59 and 1:30.1 before withstanding a late charge from Holly Lou (Allan Davis) by a diminishing neck in a career-best 2:01.1. Royal Toni (Kim Vincent) finished third after gapping the pocket on the final turn.
Carlo Poliseno trains Song Master, a Glidemaster-Cicadas Song filly with two wins in six starts, for owner/breeder Jane Dunavant. Song Master returned $3 to win.
Rookie trotting colts and geldings begin their DSBF series on Tuesday, Nov. 12, with two $20,000 USD first-round preliminary divisions scheduled on a 13-race card at Bally's Dover. First post is 4:30 p.m.
(Standardbred Canada with files from DSBF)