Reinsman Vince Copeland went into Tuesday’s card of racing at Dover Downs needing just a single victory to join an elite club, and pacer Spirit Light turned out to be the horse who took him to the promised land.
Copeland, sitting with 4,999 wins when he rolled out of bed this morning, nabbed the 5,000th win of his career with the Robin Callahan-trained distaffer in Tuesday’s 13th race at the Delaware oval.
Spirit Light was hustled to the top by Copeland, and together they led the field through fractions of :27.4, :57 and 1:26 before using a :29.2 closing panel to prevail by a nose over Bliss And Luck in 1:55.2.
Closing in on $28 million in lifetime earnings, the Harrington, DE horseman has come a long way since embarking on his driving career in the late 70s. Over the course of his career he’s managed to surpass $1 million in earnings on 11 occasions.
In other Tuesday action, Nike Franco N survived a first-over trip and posted a 1:51.4 score in the $20,000 Fillies & Mares Open Handicap. Tim Tetrick mapped out the winning trip for the Jim King, Jr. trainee who wound up drawing away by 2-1/2 lengths over runner-up Shine N Shimmer. Third prize went to Scandalicious.
Sent off as the odds-on favourite, Nike Franco N improved this year’s record to 6-1-2 from 12 trips postward for owner Richard Poillucci of North Easton, MA. The victory pushed her lifetime earnings past $350,000.
Two-year-old pacing fillies battled in a set of Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund Series divisions.
Winning their respective $20,000 assignments were Magicinthemoonlite (1:55.4) and Spinpressive (1:55.2).