Mr Perserverance tried to cut the mile and Fridaynightflight did everything he could not to allow it to happen. The final result? The pair ended up in a dead heat in Buffalo Raceway's featured $10,000 Open Pace on Saturday night (May 14).
At the start, Mr Perserverance went right to the lead and registered splits of :29, :58 and 1:27. It looked like a perfect set up for the closers Knocking Around and China Dream. While both were lurking on outside turning for home, neither one fired and they finished out of the money.
So, with the two closers no longer involved, Mr Perserverance (Ron Beback Jr.) had to deal with unexpected challenges in the passing lane from Fridaynightflight (Todd Cummings) and Babes I Scoot. It seemed like Mr Perserverance ($12.70) might hang on, but a late surge by Fridaynightflight ($8.40) resulted in a finish that couldn't separate the pair in the photo. Babes I Scoot (Kevin Cummings) finished third, just a neck behind in the race that went in 1:55.3.
Mr Perserverance (Real Artist-Miss Tenacity) is an eight-year-old gelding, who is owned by William Emmons and trained by James Clouser Jr. The victory was his third in 10 starts this season, pushing his earnings to $16,630 and $274,479 lifetime.
Fridaynightflight (Panspacificflight-Ramlin Rosie) is a seven-year-old gelding owned by Tessa Roland and conditioned by JD Perrin. The win was the fifth in 16 tries for Fridaynightflight, improving his 2016 bankroll to $33,600 and $656,801 in his career.
Beback Jr. had a good night in the bike with a four-bagger along with a training victory, while Todd Cummings, Shawn McDonough and Drew Monti all doubled. Buffalo Raceway's leading trainer JD Perrin added another three wins to total while Mihajlo Zdjelar Jr., Maria Rice and Clouser Jr. conditioned two.
(With files from Buffalo Raceway)