Ants Iner Pants, driven by Sam Widger, provided the 6-1 upset in Thursday’s $17,500 Fillies & Mares Preferred Trot, at Hoosier Park.
It was the third win of the season for the distaffer, who finished one length ahead of her rivals in 1:55.2 – a clocking that matched her career best time.
Widger elected to use off-the-pace tactics with Ants Iner Pants as he landed third in the early stages of the going with Lady Blitz and Verlin Yoder calling the shots through the opening panel in :27.1. Lady Blitz continued to lead the field of ten past the half in :56.2 and three-quarters in 1:26.1 before ever feeling a threat. Walked Into Heaven and Tyler Smith sat patiently in the pocket while Ants Iner Pants followed intently in third.
Around the final turn, Widger angled Ants Iner Pants off the pylons and was within striking distance of the tempo-setter at the top of the stretch. Ants Iner Pants continued to gain on Lady Blitz while a host of others began to close in from behind. Using a :28.3 final panel, Ants Iner Pants dug in gamely to hold off her rivals and win by a length. Lady Laker and Peter Wrenn staged a big rally late in the lane to finish second while the 7-5 favourite, Walked Into Heaven, rounded out the trifecta.
Trained by Steven Searle, who co-owns the mare with Thomas Wisniewski, Ants Iner Pants has now won three of eight seasonal outings and 19 of 75 lifetime. With the win, the daughter of the Bands Gold Chip-Patient Dream increased her lifetime earnings to $174,071 for her connections.
(Hoosier Park)