Ranger Gus won the $10,000 Open Trot in a lifetime best clocking of 1:59 at Buffalo Raceway Friday night
. The win was the third this season in 11 attempts for Ranger Gus, who tried Open company for the second time.
The race started with Ranger Gus ($11.40), driven by Dan Noble, and eventual second place finisher Mainspring (Shawn Gray) battling for the lead. Ranger Gus hit the quarter-pole first in :29.1, but Mainspring re-took the lead heading to the half.
Mainspring hit the half in :59.2 and the three-quarters in 1:29.1. Getting a perfect pocket trip for most of the race, Ranger Gus and Noble unleashed a :29.3 last quarter en route to winning by a head at the wire. Hello Carlo (Jack Flanigen) came in third.
The five-year-old Dukes Ranger gelding out of the Credit Winner mare Ilpayutuesday is trained by Lisa Lederhouse for owners Virginia and Kathy Schoeffel, James Reuther, and Jerry Dedoszak. The $5,000 share of the winning purse put Ranger Gus’s season bankroll at $21,580 and lifetime earnings at $91,629.
(With files from Buffalo Raceway)