Driver Braxten Boyd racked up seven wins on the 14-race card at Tioga Downs, including the featured $19,178 Open Handicap Trot with Tuis Angel, on Saturday, May 9.
Tuis Angel got away third for Boyd while Enola (Mike Merton) led through first-half fractions of :28.3 and :59. Boyd then made his move with the mare, sending her first-over heading to three quarters in 1:27.2. Tuis Angel and Enola battled all the way down the stretch, and Tuis Angel got up with a late surge to win by a half-length in 1:56 over a sloppy surface. Ramborain (Dan Daley) finished third.
Tuis Angel, making her first career start at Tioga, tallied her second win of the year in five starts. David Wiest trains the five-year-old daughter of Andover Hall-Tui and shares ownership with Pamela Kimmel and James Rappold. The mare is now 11-for-55 lifetime. She paid $4.42 to win.
Boyd, the “Michigan Missile," also won with Im A Believer ($8.14), Ideal Beauty Queen ($2.68), Fashion Terror ($4.06), Spittin Chicklets ($7.72), Suits Me ($8.94) and April Ava ($6.56). He is off to a strong start in his driving title defence with 12 wins in 31 drives at the Tioga meet.
The victory with April Ava came with a milestone for Dona McDonald as the trainer recorded career win number one. April Ava blasted to the lead from post seven, posted fractions of :27.2, :57.1 and 1:26.1 under confident handling from Boyd, and came home to a 1:56 victory by 1-1/2 lengths. McDonald's first start came a week ago with April Ava, a 10-year-old daughter of Delmarvelous-Jenava whom the trainer owns. The mare is now 40-for-175 lifetime, and her Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based conditioner is one-for-two.
Tioga Downs hosts its next card on Sunday with a 12-race slate starting at 12:30 p.m.
(With files from Tioga Downs)