Incaseyoudidntknow defeated the elements and the Open Handicap Mares at Bally’s Dover on Wednesday night (Nov. 30).
Shes Pukka N left with her usual early brush and took the lead to the quarter in :28.1. The 4-5 favourite Incaseyoudidnknow, in rein to Jim Morand, took advantage of the windy conditions and rushed up to take the lead after the quarter. Incaseyoudidntknow controlled the race fractions and passed the half in :56.3. Shes Pukka N tired past the half and Divine Deo inherited the pocket trip. Grace Rocks pulled first over and attacked Incaseyoudidntknow at the three-quarters in 1:25.1. In the stretch, Incaseyoudidntknow held off the late challenges by Grace Rocks and Divine Deo and won by a half-length in 1:54. Grace Rocks finished second and Divine Deo was third.
Incaseyoudidntknow is owned by James P Mango and Joseph P. Fonte, both of Maryland. Les Givens trains the daughter of Always B Miki who paid $3.60 to win.
True to their expected form, odds-on favourites Gaitway Gal and Shabby Chic won as they pleased in their respective $20,000 first-round Delaware Standardbred Breeders' Fund preliminary events for three-year-old pacing fillies.
Gaitway Gal and driver Pat Berry earned top honours with a 1:55.2 mile in the first division. The GTY Stable's homebred Delmarvalous-Brussels Hanover filly bypassed the three-hole on the first turn and pushed clear of 5-2 second choice Bank The Win (driven by Victor Kirby) before completing a :27.2 first quarter. Bank The Win, who left aggressively to clear from the outermost post before yielding, retook the lead past the stands first time and relegated Gaitway Gal to the pocket through middle splits of :56.4 and 1:25.2. Finding herself boxed on the far turn by the first-over Mistatude (Jason Thompson), Gaitway Gal found a lane up the open stretch and surged to the lead with 70 yards to go, drawing clear at will to win by 2-1/4 lengths while in hand. Bank The Win narrowly preserved second from Mistatude, who stayed on respectably after her uncovered bid through the far turn.
Jeff Smith trainee Gaitway Gal, a nine-time winner with $167,304 in career earnings, paid $2.60 to win. Her full brother, the two-year-old gelding Gaitway Guy, swept both the Harrington and Dover DSBF series this season.
The second division saw Harrington series champion Shabby Chic and driver Tim Tetrick strike the front in the final 300 yards of a 1:56 mile and sprint clear by 6-1/2 lengths while under wraps. Tim Tetrick was unhurried with the Badlands Hanover-Stylish Artist filly from the start, settling her in fourth behind 16-1 pacesetter Prime Power (Ross Wolfenden) through early sectionals of :28.1 and :57.1. Shabby Chic moved second-over behind Ky-Ky (Art Stafford Jr.) up the backstretch but made her biggest gains after Ky-Ky ducked into the pocket with five-sixteenths to go. Prime Power reached three-quarters in 1:26, but was eclipsed by Shabby Chic's sweeping push to the fore shortly thereafter. Prime Power had enough left to preserve second over Ky-Ky, who ducked to the open stretch to miss the runner-up spot by a half length.
Shabby Chic, a winner of 12 starts and $208,650, is a Let It Ride Stables homebred trained by Michael Hall. She paid $2.20 to win.
Sophomore pacing fillies square off in the second preliminary of their series next Wednesday (Dec. 7). First-round DSBF action at Bally's Dover concludes Thursday (Dec. 1), when a pair of $20,000 splits for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings highlight the early portion of a 14-race card. On Thursday, Sprocket will look to extend his four-race win streak in the Blue Hen Open Handicap Pace in Race 11. There is a Pentafecta carryover of $1,347.
Post time at Bally’s Dover is 4:30 p.m. (EST).
(with files from Bally's Dover and DSBF)