After first round action at Maywood Park, round two in the Incredible Finale series for three-year-old pacing colts shifted to Balmoral Park as a field of eight state-breds was sent postward for a purse of $5,000.
Despite missing by only a neck in his third place finish in round one Z Tam Racing & David McCaffrey Stables' Danny Noonan upset the applecart at 13-1 as he reported home with an impressive 1 ¼ length decision in a speedy 1:54.3.
After watching the lead change hands several times through an opening split of :28.3, a confident Tyler Buter moved this gelded son of Sportsmaster-Incredible Seven from fourth as the field moved towards the five-eighths mark.
Battling last week’s winner Sweet As Rain (Dan Noble) tooth and nail through middle splits of :57.0 and 1:25.2, Buter and Danny Noonan finally cleared the pacesetter as the field set sail for home.
The battle was far from over though as a game Sweet As Rain continued to try and fight back as these two moved through the lane. My Kind Of Towne (Sam Widger), the overwhelming 1-5 favorite in the race, was also right in the thick of things just three-quarters of a lengths behind the embattled leaders. Continuing on bravely Danny Noonan began to draw clear in the final sixteenth of a mile as he recorded his second victory in 14 starts this year for trainer David McCaffrey. Sweet As Rain turned in a strong performance to finish second while 21-1 outsider Suchasmuch (Josh Sutton) rallied late to edge My Kind of Towne for the show spot
(Balmoral Park)