Nova Artist ground out a lifetime fastest 1:49.3 victory during what turned out to be a very speedy Monday card at Dover Downs
On a Spring-like day with fast horses taking advantage of the near-perfect weather conditions, a number of the races flirted with 1:50 clockings and two cracked the 1:50-barrier including Fancyfreeshark (1:49.2) and Nova Artist (1:49.3).
Allan Davis guided Nova Artist to a grinding trip outside to overtake Mainland Key N and then held off Ise The By Boy in his first sub-1:50 mile. Jolt, who briefly took the early lead, came on to finish third in the week’s feature pacing event.
Owned by the Delaware Valley’s leading driver, now retired, Eddie Davis and his wife Kathy, Nova Artist is an all-Davis family horse. Their son Allan is his regular driver, and their other son, Martin, trains the pacer. Nova Artist won for the fourth time this year in 10 starts with three thirds banking $77,000 and $510,947 lifetime.
The race before Tim Tetrick drove Fancyfreeshark to a new record of 1:49.2 for owner-trainer Bobby Glassmeyer. It was the second straight score for the five-year-old son of Four Starzzz Shark-Fancy Art. With three wins and three thirds in nine races, Fancyfreeshark is off to his best start recording $48,530 earnings in 2012 and $189,990 in his career. Samandar was a close second in front of Catchmecullen A.
(Dover Downs)