Logans Girl and Spanish Dream, both trained by Jim King, owned by his wife JoAnn Looney-King, and driven by Vic Kirby, won first-leg divisions of the 2017 Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund (DSBF) three-year-old $20,000 preliminaries on Tuesday (March 28) at Dover Downs.
Tim Tetrick drove five winners, Vic Kirby drove four, and Jim and JoAnn King enjoyed a three-win day.
Logans Girl, winner of both the Harrington and Dover Downs freshman $100,000 finals. led off the program with a 1:53.1 victory, climaxed by a :27.2 last quarter to hold off the fast-finishing Free Flight Fran (Corey Callahan) in the lane. The win was the second this season in three starts for the Roddys Bags Again-All Italian bay, who now has won nine of 12 races and $157,860. KJ Dale (Tim Tetrick) was third.
Montrell Teague drove Bad Mama to a convincing 1:53.2 score in the second $20,000 DSBF pace. A daughter of Badlands Nitro-Moms Bella, she won for the second time in three races for trainer Clyde Francis and owner George Teague. Cashmeres Delight (Jim Morand) was a hard-fought second in front of Magicinthemoonlite (Tetrick).
Diva Demands took the lead after the opening panel and sped home in 1:55.2 in the third DSBF filly section. Corey Callahan was at the controls for the Roddys Bags Again-Me In The Spotlite sophomore. Diva Demands, owned and trained by George Leager, won for the second time in two starts this campaign. Lillisbagsrpacked (Kirby) picked up second-place money. A Lady Sizzling (Tony Morgan), the early leader, held on for third.
The King-Kirby combination struck again when Spanish Dream won the fourth and final DSBF $20,000 filly first-leg preliminary. The Dream Away-Latin Liftoff three-year-old recorded her second win in two starts and her sixth career victory in 11 races, bringing her lifetime bankroll to $97,620. Lunar Phase (Art Stafford Jr.) came on to take second, edging Westwind Roddylee (Tetrick).
Spanish Dream was one of two DSBF preliminary winners for Jim and JoAnn King and driver Victor Kirby
Apple Bottom Jeans proved her 1:50.3 track record at Rosecroft was no fluke as Montrell Teague guided the Mr Apples-Scylla Hanover four-year-old to a passing-lane victory in 1:51.4, catching Enhance Your Mind (Kirby) to win the $20,000 Mares Open. Sweet Bobbie (Stafford Jr.) took show honours.
In the $15,500 4&5-Year-Old Mares pace, Barbaras Shadow won her seventh race in 11 starts on the year with a 1:52.1 victory for trainer Leigh Raymer, owner Brian Hoffecker and driver Vic Kirby. In The Shadows (Morgan) and Destinysbeachbabe (Teague) were second and third respectively.
Montrell Teague and Corey Callahan notched two wins each.
DSBF Filly Trots, $20,000 Open Trot headline Wednesday
Spoonful, winner of the freshman $100,000 Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund (DSBF) Final last November, leads a field of seven three-year-old fillies in the first of two trotting divisions of first-leg preliminary action on Wednesday (March 29) at Dover Downs. First post is 4:30 p.m.
A bay daughter of Political Briefing-Sanctions, Spoonful finished off her freshman season winning the DSBF $100,000 final at Dover Downs in 2:00.4 by 2 3/4 lengths with Jim Morand at the controls. Les Givens conditions the filly who banked $104,512 last year for owners Delbert Cain and Nanticoke Racing. Rodney Mitchell’s Meantrotnjean, who won the Harrington Raceway $100,000 final, makes her seasonal debut with Allan Davis driving. Political Energy, handled by Corey Callahan, drew the rail for owner Don Marine.
The other first-division starters are Willow Mill Stable’s Willow Mill Anna (Gordon Barrett), Seafood Goddess, racing for J&M and Seafood Delight stables (Ross Wolfenden), Allan Pullman’s A Chorus Line (Jason Thompson) and Cliff Green’s Hashtag Hope (Art Stafford Jr.).
In the other $20,000 DSBF prelim, Luv Is Blind (Vic Kirby) had three wins and three seconds in eight races last year, and she makes her initial start this season. Gogh Cinorita (Wolfenden), Bob Shahan’s Ohtobetheone (Morgan) and Terry Kibler and Betsy Brown’s Irish Blessing (Morand), from the rail, head the opposition in the field of eight. The other starters are Mark Groce’s Alexibethtown (Tim Tetrick), Mist Stable’s Black Magic Mist (Stafford Jr.), Faith On The Hill (Callahan), owned by Emerson, Amiss, and Amiss, and Serendipity Stable’s homebred Segway (George Dennis).
The $20,000 Open Handicap trot features a hard-hitting cast of six. Gural Hanover (Morgan) won last week’s top trot for Weaver Bruscemi, Little E & Panhellenic and Burke Racing. Wind Of The North (Sean Bier), owned by Daryl Bier and JoAnn Dombeck, finished second. Tough Mac (Callahan) led early and was fourth at the wire for Mike Casalino.
Market Share (Tetrick), the 2012 Hambletonian winner who has won $3.75 million in purses, drew the rail for Richard Gutnick, Bill Augustine and TLP Stable. Tirade Hanover (Kirby), who has earned $766,000 in his career, starts from post two, and Bill Cantrell’s Deacons Valley (Stafford Jr.) steps up in class after consecutive second-place finishes.
(Dover Downs)