Le Reina Road took advantage of a patient drive by Dave McNeight III and registered a neck victory over Golden Terror in the featured $7,400 Open II-III Pace at Batavia Downs Saturday night (Dec. 1).
Le Reina Road and McNeight III sat third for the first three-quarters of the mile as Cam Patch (Dan Noble) and Golden Terror (John Cummings Jr.) each took turns setting the fractions of :27.4, :56.3 and 1:25.4.
But as the field of seven turned for home, Le Reina Road ($9.60) was steered three-wide and managed to nail the stubborn but game veteran Golden Terror just before the wire while the also tough Cam Patch was just behind in third. The winning time was 1:55 over the fast track.
Le Reina Road, a seven-year-old Pro Bono Best gelding, is owned by Limerick Racing of Hamburg, New York and is trained by Dave McNeight Jr. The win was the 10th of the season in 39 outings and jacked his earnings up to $62,384.
The final weekend of racing will begin next Friday night with a 6:25 p.m. post time. The season concludes next Saturday night.
(Batavia Downs)