TP Lucy and Ruby Ransom were decisive winners of $100,000 Delaware Standarbred Breeders Fund (DSBF) Finals, Starsel won the $32,000 Open Handicap trot and Ross Wolfenden reached the 4,000-win mark on Wednesday, April 8 at Dover Downs
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Tony Morgan led off a banner night of racing with the first of four winning drives piloting Mark Waterman's TP Lucy to a 1:58.1 victory, her second straight and fourth in five career races in the $100,000 DSBF Three-Year-Old Filly Trot final. The Linbo-Fastreena chestnut was an easy winner reducing her lifetime record by one full second. JAs Commando finished second with Vic Kirby and entrymate Funny Briefs driven by George Brennan picked up the third place share. TP Lucy has now won $73,500 in her five races.
Ruby Ransom rushed into the lead just past the opening quarter pole and then was never headed in a 1:58.3 conquest in the $100,000 colt trot final. Brandon Givens was the winning pilot driving for Ed Maas and Nanticoke Racing Inc. The win was the second, with two seconds, in four starts this season for the CR Commando-Dreamlands Trophy colt that has been 1-2-3 in 16 of 19 career starts while banking $211,304 in two seasons of racing. Bob Shahan and Bakermill Blake sat second for most of the mile. Special Command got up for third with Roger Plante driving.
Daryl Bier left smartly from the outside with Starsel in the Open and the Angus Hall-Super Sally gelding to get the lead and the pair were never headed in a 1:53.4 score, a new mark for the six-year-old owned by Glenn DelRusso, Charles Dombeck and trainer-driver Bier. Veteran JM Vangogh finished second for Corey Callahan with Joey The Jet JT reined by Ross Wolfenden third.
Larry Baron's Sergeant York made it two wins in a row as Jon Roberts guided the Duke Of York-PJ Naomi four-year-old to victory in 1:55.1 in the $21,000 sub-feature trot. The win was the 100th of the meet for leading trainer Josh Green. Letmetellusumthin, the only female in the field of eight, finished a strong second reined by Corey Callahan. Fivedollarsforsox and George Denis closed for third money.
In a $17,000 trot, Tony Morgan picked up his fourth win on the program driving Howard and Josh Kaufman's Good Feeling to a 1:55.1 triumph for Duane Stoliker's second training win. Rose Run Flash (Mike Cole) and Mignon (Wolfenden) were second and third respectively.
Bobby Myers' Enessee Ernie was an easy 1:58 winner, his second straight, in a $16,000 4,&5-Year-Old trot with Eddie Davis Jr. at the controls. The Enjoy Lavec-Ms Matched Pearls gelding was followed by CJ's Crown (Jim King) and Rusty Rusty Rusty (Kirby) second and third respectively.
The Wiz Kids Stable's Scarlet McZara won the top pace on the card, a $15,000 3,4&5-Year-Old Filly and Mare pace. Corey Callahan drove the McArdle-Zara three-year-old picked up her second win in five races. Lysistrata (Davis Jr.) was runner-up. Winning Solution (Joe Columbo) was along in time for third.
The 2008-09 live racing meet comes to a close on Thursday, April 9.
4,000 For Wolfenden
Ross Wolfenden's second win at Dover Downs on Wednesday, April 8 was his 4,000th since coming to the U.S. nearly a decade ago. The New Zealand-born horseman won two races to reach his milestone event. In an early non-wagering event, a $20,000 Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund sophomore filly consolation trot, Wolfenden steered Copper Harbor, a daughter of CR Commando-CR Penny Lane, owned by Rod Allen Inc. and trained by Bob Reeser, notcher her maiden win in 2:02.3 for his 3,999th win. During the regular program, Wolfenden drove Ed Walls' What A Boomer to victory in 1:58 for his 4,000th triumph.
Wolfenden won 60 races Down Under before crossing the Pacific to drive horses in the United States. He follows in the footsteps of his father, Peter Wolfenden, a renown horseman of the mid 20th century who won acclaim driving the legendary pacer Cardigan Bay. With only one day of the 2008-09 meet remaining, Wolfenden is third in the driver standings with 183 wins and nearly $2 million in purses for horses he has driven at the track.
(Dover Downs)