The tandem of driver Tony Hall and trainer Anette Lorentzon followed their hat trick on Monday with a dynamite showing on Tuesday, May 21 at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel, striking a grand slam together including a win in the $49,315 Open Trot and Hall notching an additional win to grab five victories total on the 13-race card.
Hall and Lorentzon fittingly stole the top prize in the Open Trot with a pillar-to-post score by Pioneer As in 1:53.2. Hall pressed forward to the point with no challenges coming after a :27 first quarter, leaving the mare to her own devices while strolling to a :57 half. Threats slowly loomed from the back as Swan Flyer (Brandon Bates) angled first over with stablemate and 6-5 favourite Oh Look Magic (Marvin Luna) in tow, but Pioneer As stayed resolute on the helm in a sprint to three-quarters to gain more separation on her peers. She sped by the third station in 1:24.3 and spun for home to just a couple taps of the whip in progress to a 1-1/4-length win in a 1:53.2 mile. Oh Look Magic closed to finish second with Prince Of Honor (Ernie Hendry) rolling from last for third and Usosweet Blue Chip (Atlee Bender) levelling off from a pocket ride in fourth.
Pioneer As, a five-year-old mare by Devious Man, collected her 12th win from 48 tries and has now banked $406,383 for owner-breeder ACL Stuteri AB. She paid $6.10 to win.
Aside from the win in the feature, Hall and Lorentzon won early in the card with Ahadi As (1:54.2; $2.32) and then scored a quick-fire double late in the card with wins by When Im Gone As (1:57.4; $5.96) and Eye Ofa Tiger As (1:54; $4.38). Hall made it a natural hat trick to complete his five-pack on the day with a jogburger by Sir Lloyd (1:54.2; $2.62) in the penultimate race on the card.
The Hazelton (Brandon Bates) won in the co-featured $28,767 Open 2 Trot going nearly gate to wire in 1:53.1. Bates planted The Hazelton on the point past a :28 first quarter and grabbed a breather to a :58 half before enduring a stout back-half challenge from Golden Wall As (Tony Hall). Golden Wall As dug into The Hazelton through three-quarters in 1:25.1 but the inside trip proved advantageous for The Hazelton in the stretch as he rebuffed Golden Wall As by a neck at the beam.
Ron Burke trains The Hazelton, a four-year-old Muscle Mass gelding and 14-time winner, for owners Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC. He paid $3.48 to win.
Live harness racing resumes at Oak Grove on Monday, May 27 at 3 p.m. (CDT) with Kentucky Sire Stakes action for four-year-olds returning to the Southwest Kentucky oval as well as Wiener Dogs from all around the region flocking forth for the annual Wiener Dog races. Free program pages for every race day, courtesy of TrackMaster, are available on the Oak Grove Racing website.
(Oak Grove Racing)