Major Uptrend came up a nose short in last week’s quest for a fourth consecutive victory, but it didn’t take him long to find his way back to victory lane for trainer Tim Crissman.
Tony Morgan hustled Major Uptrend to the lead in Thursday’s $30,000 Open Preferred Handicap for pacers at Dover Downs, and the tandem never looked back en route to securing a 1:49.4 score in the featured tilt.
The pacer hammered out fractions of :27, :55.2 and 1:22.3 before kicking out a :27.1 closing panel. That was good enough to earn the 6-5 favourite the one-length triumph over Bushwacker. Bad Gamer was another pair of lengths back in third.
It was the fifth win of the year – and the 29th to date – for the career winner of $313,833. The six-year-old son of Somebeachsomewhere-Tricky Tooshie is owned by Mildred Ventriglio of Manalapan, NJ.
Blazing Bobby Sox used come-from-behind tactics to capture the $27,500 Delaware Special Handicap for pacers, and in doing so he pushed his winning streak to two-in-a-row.
Trainer/driver Art Stafford, Jr. got away sixth with his charge while Sweet Rock, Im Supersonic A and Emeritus Maximus battled through first-half fractions of :26.4 and :56.1. Captive Audience applied big pressure on Emeritus Maximus on the way to the three-quarter pole in 1:23.2, and that battle set things up perfectly for Blazing Bobby Sox. He kicked off cover and fired home in :26.4 to win by three-quarters of a length over Captive Audience in 1:50.3. Emeritus Maximus took home third prize.
Art Stafford and Art Stafford, Jr. share ownership on the six-year-old son of The Panderosa-Liamatters. The victory was the pacer’s fifth of the season and the 19th of his career. The lion’s share of Thursday’s loot lifted his cash stash to $213,228.