Absolutely Certain bobbled at the start of the $10,500 Open Trot at Buffalo Raceway on Friday night (April 25), but overcame the slight miscue and left little doubt who was the best at the finish line in registering a half-length victory over Heartsaregonnaroll.
When the starting gate swung open, Absolutely Certain broke stride momentarily, but driver Drew Monti did a great job getting him back on gait and keeping him in the race. Settling in fourth after the misstep, Absolutely Certain ($9.70) went first over just before the half and chased the pacesetting Heartsaregonnaroll (Kevin Cummings) from there.
In the stretch, Absolutely Certain showed plenty of trot and breezed past the leg-weary Heartsaregonnaroll while the lukewarm favourite Ramblin Rick (Greg Merton) took the show position. The final time was 2:02.4 over the sloppy track.
The victory was the first in 11 starts for Absolutely Certain (Malabar Man-River Runs Wild). He is owned by Garry Martin and trained by Sue Stockwell. The win pushed the six-year-old gelding's earnings to $13,782 in 2014 and $91,773 lifetime.
Racing continues on Saturday night at Buffalo Raceway with a 13-race card slated to begin at 6:40 p.m. The feature is the $10,500 Open Pace, which is scheduled as the eighth race.
(Buffalo Raceway)