A trio of favourites – Totally Rusty, Spin Vision and Purrfect Bags – dominated $20,000 second leg divisions of the Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund (DSBF) preliminaries while Wind Of The North held on to win the $20,000 Open/Handicap Trot on April 1 at Dover Downs. Red hot Vic Kirby had five wins.
It was no contest in the first DSBF prelim as Totally Rusty won for fun in 1:52.1 with Corey Callahan holding the lines for trainer Doug Lewis and breeder/owner Carter Racing Stable. The win was the 10th in 11 lifetime races for the chestnut homebred daughter of Rustys For Real-Rustys Joy, now a winner of $149,250. Seeboomook Princess (Ross Wolfenden) closed well to nip Brians Thunder (Jim Morand) for place money over 16 lengths behind the winner.
Allan Davis guided Leigh Louthan’s homebred Spin Vision to a 1:54.1 victory in the second division, her sixth win this season in eight starts. Overall, the brown No Spin Zone-Davids Art filly has won nine times with four seconds in 19 starts while banking $87,480. Cedar Hall Heiress (George Dennis) and Nellas Bus (Vince Copeland) were second and third, respectively.
Purrfect Bags remained near-perfect as Vic Kirby piloted the Jim King-conditioned Roddys Bags Again-Purrfectly Bad daughter to her ninth career win in 10 starts. Gigi Deo (Wolfenden), a winner last week, had to settle for second a neck behind Purrfect Bags, who stopped the clock in 1:52 flat. Love Forbidden (Callahan) was a strong third. Purrfect Bags now has earnings of $146,750 for owner JoAnn King.
The top eight point earners after the two rounds of DSBF prelims return next Wednesday for a $100,000 final.
Wind Of The North, a late Fall purchase by Daryl Bier, made the winner’s circle for the first time this year turning in an impressive 1:52.3 triumph in the $20,000 Open/Handicap Trot. The five-year-old altered son of Cantab Hall-Talk To The Wind, owned by trainer/driver Bier and Joann Dombeck, cut out the entire mile leading the quarter in :27.1 and trotting home in :27.2 to withstand a tremendous homestretch duel with runner-up Tough Mac (Callahan), who was a head back in second. Prayer Session (Jonathan Roberts) was the third horse home. Baximum was scratched.
Vic Kirby, the track’s third leading dash-win driver, who had three wins Tuesday, finished the day with five more. Corey Callahan won three while Allan Davis had a double. The battle for leading trainer has come down to a difference of two with defending champion Dylan Davis at 59 and, with two winners Wednesday, Doug Lewis is at 57.
The top pacers of the meet, Bandolino and Jebswesternshark, both sub-1:50 winners last week, head the big Thursday card in the $28,500 Delaware Special. The final $20,000 DSBF preliminaries for sophomore male pacers lead off the program.
(With files from Dover Downs)