Pebble Beach scorched through the brisk air over Bally's Dover while Beach Glass sat chilly and capitalized when the time was right to win the $250,000 Progress Pace final on Wednesday night (Nov. 23).
Driver Yannick Gingras launched Beach Glass from post seven and pressed forward against Pebble Beach around the first turn, though Pebble Beach refused to relinquish control and snapped a :25.1 first quarter to hold the helm. Beach Glass nestled into the pocket past the stands and stayed put through a :52.4 half and started to ready for a pocket launch past three-quarters in 1:20.3. Spinning for home, Pebble Beach folded from the torrid tempo and Beach Glass shot past with ease to coast to a 1:48.4 win over Captain Cowboy, who fired through the open stretch late. Fourever Boy took third and Mad Max Hanover survived a first-over push to hold fourth.
A homebred for Schooner II Stables, Beach Glass has now won 12 races from 18 starts and earned $1,187,416. Brent MacGrath conditions the son of the late Somebeachsomewhere. He paid $4.60 to win.
Killer Stripes Completes DSBF Sweep
With odds-on favourite Misty Coast eliminated from contention on the first turn, Killer Stripes had clear sailing to control the terms through the final lap and record a 1:55.1 lifetime mark in Wednesday's $100,000 Ramona Hubbard Memorial, the final of the Delaware Standardbred Breeders' Fund series for two-year-old pacing fillies.
As Dexter Dunn landed Killer Stripes in the pocket behind early leader No Gel Nikki (driven by Montrell Teague), overwhelming 1-9 choice Misty Coast stalked patiently in fourth before Art Stafford Jr. angled her off the pegs to make her move midway on the first turn. However, Misty Coast locked wheels with Direct Mist at the :27.1 first quarter, and the pair stopped abruptly. Killer Stripes brushed to the lead at the bell, rated middle splits of :56.3 and 1:25, and edged clear of No Gel Nikki through the final turn. The Badlands Hanover-Tiger Style filly drew clear under mild encouragement to win — for the third time in as many career starts — by 7-1/2 lengths. No Gel Nikki was an isolated second, eight lengths clear of Spoiled Rotn Girl (Allan Davis), who just nabbed the flagging Clearlydreamy (Victor Kirby) for third.
Misty Coast never recovered and finished sixth in the seven-horse field.
Trainer Andrew Stafford co-owns Killer Stripes, who has now earned $70,000 in her career, with Thomas Ireland and Bonnie Benson. Killer Stripes paid $10, $8.80 and $10 across the board; No Gel Nikki returned $53.40 and $57.60; and Spoiled Rotn Girl paid $180.20.
In the $20,000 consolation, Ezy Ranch Inc. hombred Ezycure and Montrell Teague sustained an extended first-over bid out of third to wear down pacesetter Spicy Tuna (David Rearic) and defeat her by 2-3/4 lengths in 1:58.4. Mavericks Missy (Russell Foster) rallied off third-over cover to finish third.
Cory Mumford trains Ezycure, a Barber Pole-Best Business filly with three career wins and $44,150 in earnings.
(with files from DSBF)
Truly save the best for last
No disgrace to Pebble Beach in defeat he just got beat by the best breed Somebeachsomewhere colt ever. We will now have an opportunity to watch Beach Glass do one other thing that his daddy didn't do, that is to race at 4 years old. I'm quite sure the driver of Pebble Beach definitely did not want Beach Glass locked in behind him turning for home.
Pebble Beach
By Pebble Beach tiring and finishing 5th in The Progress Pace, Bythemissal is now the only 3yo of either sex or gait in the most recent Top-Ten Poll that has never finished out of the money in 2022. This was also the only race in Pebble Beach's entire career, which is now most likely over, in which he finished worse than 3rd.