Following decisive wins in both preliminary legs, Primo Maschio dug deep to hold off Lew Not Lou for a 1:52.3 triumph in the $150,685 Delaware Standardbred Breeders' Fund (DSBF) Final for three-year-old male pacers on Thursday, Dec. 18 at Bally's Dover.
Primo Maschio and driver Trae Porter landed second-over on the first turn behind Shore Not Beach (Pat Berry), who worked to clear early leader Lew Not Lou (Jason Thompson) for the lead past a :27 first quarter. Left uncovered coming off the first turn, Primo Maschio drove on to assume control of the terms with a circuit to go, and the Badlands Hanover-Primadonna gelding rolled to the half in :55.
Up the backstretch and through the far turn, Primo Maschio faced sustained pressure from Lew Not Lou, who re-emerged from third to force a solid clip to three-quarters in 1:23.2 and pose an even bigger threat off the home turn. Primo Maschio kept Lew Not Lou a neck at bay for the victory while Shore Not Beach stayed on from the pocket to finish third, a length shy of the top pair.
"I was a little worried," said Porter of Lew Not Lou taking aim at Primo Maschio in the stretch. "He got to my saddle pad, but as soon as we got to the top of the stretch, my colt dug in deeper. He's such a nice horse."
Walter Callahan trains Primo Maschio, now a 19-time winner with $572,150 in earnings from 27 career starts, for Forrest Bartlett. The gelding is a perfect five-for-five in DSBF Finals and has been defeated just twice in 14 starts against Delaware-sired company. As the 1-9 favourite, Primo Maschio paid $2.20 to win.
After cutting the mile and getting caught on the wire in last week's overnight feature, Itsrockandroll A got up by a neck off a pocket trip in Thursday's $37,671 Blue Hen Open Handicap Pace.
Downers Delight (Pat Berry) left the fastest of all and grabbed the early lead approaching the quarter in :26.3 while 1-2 favourite Itsrockandroll A took the pocket. The field of the best pacers on the grounds remained single file to the half in :55.1. Muskateer Hanover was the first to pull off the pylons and raced first-over up the backstretch with Itsrockandroll A revved up in the two-hole awaiting the cue from Tim Tetrick.
Downers Delight received heavy pressure from Muskateer Hanover as the pacers raced as a pair passing the three quarters in 1:22.4. At the top of the stretch, Muskateer Hanover started to weaken, and Itsrockandroll A angled to the pylons and sprinted past him and Downers Delight win in 1:50.4. Downers Delight was second, followed by Muskateer Hanover.
Itsrockandroll A won for the eighth time this year in 25 appearances for owners Elizabeth and Bret Brittingham. Don Brittingham trains the 10-year-old son of A Rocknroll Dance-Miss Worthy Whitby, who is now 44-for-155 lifetime with $921,287 in earnings. The win price was $3.
The win capped off a strong few days for team Brittingham.
”We had a big week," Don Brittingham said. "Our trotter Gaelilhil won on Tuesday, our filly Ragtime Red won on Wednesday and tonight, Itsrockandroll A won."
He added that Thursday's winner is headed for a brief break.
“We are going to give him some well-deserved time off and bring him back to the races in a couple of weeks,” he said.
Two top Dover battlers extended their winning streaks on the card — Tom Horn, who won his ninth straight race, and Armed Bandit, who took his fifth consecutive score.
Tom Horn ($3.80) got every call for Tetrick and trainer Wayne Givens, putting up the panels of :26.1, :54.1, and 1:22, and held on by a neck over Joker On Jack (Allan Davis) to score in 1:50.4. Live Love Lindy (Jason Lynch) was third. The winning three-year-old son of Cattlewash-Dancinwiththestarz has won 10 times this season in 22 outings after going 0-for-13 as a rookie. The gelding, owned by Legacy Racing of Delaware Inc., Hazzard Racing Stables, and Amy Penuel, has now earned $350,123 lifetime.
The margin was the tightest it's been since his winning streak started, but Armed Bandit ($3) secured his fifth victory in a row after returning to the Traci Berry barn and Dover after his Sept. 25 start. The six-year-old son of Heston Blue Chip-Bandolera Hanover controlled the fractions of :26.4, :55.3, and 1:23.3 and sprinted home to a 1-1/2-length score in a lifetime-best-equalling 1:52.1 for owner TLB Racing LLC. Beggin For Bacon (Tetrick) was second, followed by Forward Look (Montrell Teague). Armed Bandit has compiled a record of seven wins in 24 starts this year and is 16-for-72 lifetime with $194,474 in bankroll.
Dover will be dark next week from Dec. 22 to Dec. 25. Live harness racing will return on Monday, Dec. 29.
(DSBF & Dover Downs)