Pamela Wagner's homebred K J Todd braved the elements and circled his six foes with a sweeping last-to-first move in the $16,438 Open Handicap Trot on Wednesday, May 29 at Ocean Downs, and in the act, scored a fifth win in his last six races.
Victor Kirby, who shuttled south to Ocean Downs solely to drive K J Todd after a pair of drives earlier in the day at Harrington Raceway, got away last with K J Todd as Creekside Pete (Corey Braden) controlled early fractions of :28.1 and :58. The our-year-old Trixton gelding angled off the pegs with nine-sixteenths of the mile remaining and caught mild cover from Black Hope (Cole Olsen) through the clubhouse turn. Then, in his customary style, K J Todd vaulted around cover midway up the backstretch and headed Creekside Pete midway on the final turn before edging clear to win by a widening length in 1:56.3 over the sloppy track. Coventry Hall (Trae Porter) saved second from the pocket and Creekside Pete faded to third.
John Wagner trains K J Todd, who has now won seven of 16 races this season and has amassed 12 lifetime wins. He paid $6.40 to win.
William Carter led all drivers with four wins on the card while Johnathan Ahle notched a hat trick. On the training side of the ledger, Stacey McLenaghan recorded a double.
Racing at Ocean Downs resumes on Sunday, June 2 with a 13-race card. First post is 7:05 p.m.
(Ocean Downs)