Buster Mee N, a 25-1 shot won the $17,000 feature, Enessee Ernie takes $16,500 trot while Rare Bunny set a new North American and World Record for a 5/8th mile distance winning one of four $10,000 "Go The Distance II" event on a longshot filled Saturday, March 21 at Dover Downs. Mike Cole drove his 1,000th winner
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In the feature race, a $17,000 Male pace, Wholeftthegateopen and Mike Cole cut out fast early fractions and at the three quarters in 1:23.2; there were three horses wide with a fourth joining the melee as they turned for home. Buster Mee N, apparently locked in was able to move up along the inside and Brandon Givens sent the Love Or Die-Three Mothers gelding along the "Dover Inside Drive" and blasted to a 1:52.4 victory. The Midnight Owl N (Jon Roberts) won a four-horse photo for second place. Eviction Notice N (Vic Kirby) finished third.
Enessee Ernie, last in a nine-horse field on the final turn stormed five-wide turning for home an overpowered his rivals for a 1:58 victory in the $16,500 4&5-Year-Old trot for his second win of the year. Bobby Myers owns and trains the five-year-old Enjoy Lave-Ms Matched Pearls gelding. Deliberate (Tony Morgan) led until late in the lane and finished second. Indian Hill Mojoe (Ron Hill) went a giant trip parked the mile and still came home third.
Mike Hall's Wesmokempeacepipe was the first of two Jon Roberts driven winners. The Ft Apache Hanover-Camryn Raie gelding score a 1:53.1 wire-to-wire victory in one of two $18,000 Delaware Claiming paces. Mimis Tyler (Wolfenden) was next. Marcus Mainbrace A (Morgan) took third money.
Chipoffablueblock, off at 9-1 completed Ross Wolfenden's driving triple. Owned by Howard Birney and trainer Archie Peel, the Tulsa Blue Chip-Harmony Oaks Lady gelding bested Long Life (Morgan), second and Victor Vuitton N (Vic Kirby) in the other $25,000 Delaware claimer.
The second edition of the Go The Distance trio of races at various distances got underway with a record-breaking performance. Tony Morgan took Rare Bunny right to the front, fought off a challenge from Armbro Cromwell heading to the final turn and then cruised to a 1:08.3 clocking for the rarely raced 5/8th mile distance knocking three-fifths of a second off the former record equaled last month at the track by Dragons Blood and then also equaled by Pegasus Osborne of 1:09.3.
Rare Bunny, a Precious Bunny-How Rare six-year-old, is owned by trainer Doris Marine, and won for the third consecutive time. Armbro Cromwell (Eddie Davis Jr.) and Rustys Doll (George Dennis) were second and third respectively.
Ross Wolfenden led off a three straight wins performance driving Man He Can Go to victory in 1:08.4, one-fifth off the new record, in the second Go The Distance "speed" test. The Masterman-Fair Decision gelding beat PJ Camalike (Givens) to the finish line with Seal The Deal (Roger Plante) third.
Nick Callahan's JP Hickory, an altered son of Arturo-Always Truthful, made it two consecutive wins in the third $10,000 division with Corey Callahan in the bike for a 1:09.3 win. Monahans Magix (Morgan) finished second with Pesto Hanover (Wolfenden) was the third finisher.
In the opening race, Mike Cole joined the 1,000-win club piloting GEs Kris to victory for breeder-owners Gene and Gary Ewing.
(Dover Downs)