Ten-year-old stallion Celebrity Pegasus stole the spotlight on Friday night (Nov. 4) taking the $10,800 Open Trot at Northville Downs.
Early leaders Major Al Mar (Kody Massey) and Empire Earl N (Winter Asher-Stalbaum) battled hard off the car and past the quarter for the front in :27.2 before Major Al Mar took over. He then opened up to a three-length lead past the half in :57.1 and continued to the three-quarters in 1:27.2 while under pressure from Enchanted Mission (Marc St. Louis Jr.) and Celebrity Pegasus (Kim Pluta). In the final turn, the leader faltered and Celebrity Pegasus took command down the lane, drawing off to a 2-1/2-length victory over a hard-charging I Get It (Bob Rowland), who finished second, and Enchanted Mission, who finished in third.
Celebrity Pegasus stopped the timer in 1:57.1 and got his picture taken for the 46th time in his career. His lifetime earnings now stand at $497,436. Samuel Eicher owns and trains the winner, who is a son of Andover Hall out of Celebrity Athena.
Kody Massey led all drivers on the night with three wins, while Kim Pluta had two, including the aforementioned win in the night’s featured race.
Live harness racing resumes at Northville Downs on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Saturday program features the $10,800 Open Pace in which Lying In Cash, the winner of four straight Opens at The Ville and five straight races, takes on the fourth winningest horse in harness racing history, Southwind Amazon, who has 123 lifetime wins and purse earnings over $1.4 million. The pair will battle five other challengers in Sara Jane, Dontcallmefrancis, Magic Shark, Catch Me Conrad and Jets Sureshot.
Northville Downs races every Friday and Saturday night from now through Dec. 17.
(With files from Northville Downs)