A good start turned into a great finish for Wheels A Turning as she collected the victory in Buffalo Raceway's $11,000 Class A trot on Friday evening.
Starting from the seven post, Wheels A Turning (David McNeight III) used some early gate speed to drop into the pocket then rallied in the stretch to beat Lougazi (Ray Fisher, Jr.) by a neck in 1:59.4 over the good track.
SR Radar (Mike Baumeister) was able to set the tempo with fractions of :30.4, 1:00.2 and 1:29.4 but that was all the front runner had to offer the rest of the way.
Empire Earl N appeared to be the initial threat but broke stride midway around the final turn and lost any hope of winning. Meanwhile, that allowed Wheels A Turning to move to the outside unencumbered and take the lead away from SR Radar. Lougazi made a final lunge at the line but came up a neck short. Are You In (Kevin Cummings) took third.
Trained by James Clouser, Jr. and co-owned by the Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, it was the fourth win in 10 starts this season for the five-year-old mare Wheels A Turning (Mr Cantab-Free Wheeling). The victory increased her seasonal bankroll to $27,500 and $182,902 lifetime.
In the $8,400 Class B trot, Tiki Taka ($5.30), after suffering a tough neck setback last week, rebounded nicely and took a nose decision over Ticket To Seattle in 1:58.3. Cummings steered him to the win for owners Anthony Alessi and Arthur Corwin.
Cummings completed the program with four winners with McNeight III getting a double.
Racing will continue on Saturday night with an 11-race card that has a special 7:15 p.m. post time to accommodate the running of the Kentucky Derby. There's a $427 carryover in the Pick-5 which begins in the second race.
For more information including the latest news, race replays, results, entries, upcoming promotions and simulcast schedule, go to www.buffaloraceway.com
(Buffalo Raceway)