With the stakes season waning, each remaining race takes on greater importance for end of the year Dan Patch award honours. One race that voters will watch carefully is the $200,350 Matron Stake for three-year-old male trotters this Thursday evening (November 6) at Dover Downs.
The race, set to go as Race 10 at roughly 7:30 p.m., features on the far inside at Post 1, Father Patrick (to be driven by Yannick Gingras), and at the far outside in Post 8, Nuncio (John Campbell).
Nuncio comes into the race with four straight stakes wins, including two legs of the Trotting Triple Crown, the Kentucky Futurity and the Yonkers Trot.
His stablemate Father Patrick has a pair of wins in the American-National and Bluegrass Stakes and two second-place finishes in his four most recent starts.
The two share the air at their home in East Windsor, N.J. and a trainer in Hall of Famer Jimmy Takter, but they’ll be looking to separate themselves from each other in end of the year balloting.
Here is a look at the numbers behind the 2014 season, with each horse putting in 15 starts.
DATA POINT
NUNCIO (15-10-5-0 $1,297,896, 1:50.4)
FATHER PATRICK (15-11-3-0 $1,443,081, 1:50.2f)
AVERAGE MARGIN OF VICTORY
• NUNCIO – 2.4 lengths
• FATHER PATRICK – 3.82 lengths
FASTEST LAST QUARTER
• NUNCIO – :27 (three times)
• FATHER PATRICK – :27 (two times)
RACES WON FOR OVER $100,000
• NUNCIO – 2
• FATHER PATRICK – 6
AVERAGE EARNINGS PER START
• NUNCIO – $86,526.40
• FATHER PATRICK – $96,205.40
RACE TIMED AT 1:52 OR BETTER
• NUNCIO – 6
• FATHER PATRICK – 4
WINNING FAVOURITE
• NUNCIO – 88%
• FATHER PATRICK – 73%
WINS FROM POST 8 OR HIGHER
• NUNCIO – 0 for 1
• FATHER PATRICK – 3 for 4
HEAD-TO-HEAD
• NUNCIO – 33% - 2 for 6
• FATHER PATRICK – 66% - 4 for 6
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.