Favourite Its A Herbie catapulted off cover to fulfill a 7-5 obligation and win in Monday afternoon’s $28,000 Open Trot at Oak Grove Racing.
Trainer-driver Verlin Yoder took the seven-year-old gelding by Here Comes Herbie off the speed again to race fifth of the sextet while Perlucky (driven by John MacDonald) cleared to the lead past a :27 first quarter. He kept Stride The Hill (Kevin Wallis) in the pocket as he powered to the half in :55.4 and tried to grab a reprieve up the backside.
As the tempo slowed, Saint Antoine (Joey Putnam) blitzed first-over with Its A Herbie in tow and last week's Open winner Heath Bar (Matt Krueger) perched third over. Perlucky clicked by three-quarters in 1:25 but caved to the mounting pressure circling the final turn. Saint Antoine stayed alongside, but Yoder launched Its A Herbie three-wide and in a matter of strides burst clear of his competition. Whip stowed away, Its A Herbie bounded to a six-length victory in 1:54.1 with Heath Bar circling to take second. Bluebird Deacon (Atlee Bender) closed from last for third and Saint Antoine took fourth.
Winning for the 23rd time in 75 starts, Its A Herbie has now banked $628,837. Verlin Yoder owns the gelding, who paid $4.90 to win.
Monday's card kicked off with the co-featured $18,000 Open 2 Trot, won coast to coast by DGs Caviar in 1:55.4. Driver Joey Putnam put the Joe Putnam pupil on the point past a :28 first quarter and carved a sensible clip under minimal pressure to a :57.4 half and three-quarters in 1:27. Big Christian (Atlee Bender), the 1-2 favourite, went charging first over around the final turn but did not have enough racetrack remaining to collar DGs Caviar, who kept a quarter-length in front at the beam. Pilgrims Image (Matt Krueger) recovered from a break at the start to finish third, beaten 10 lengths, with Brookview Bluto (Kevin Wallis) fourth.
Lavern Yoder owns DGs Caviar, a seven-year-old stallion by Prime Time Caviar. He won his 19th race from 56 starts -- and his first race from five outings over the last two years -- and has now earned $166,450. He paid $18.36 to win.
Racing resumes at Oak Grove on Tuesday with a jam-packed day of racing. Three non-betting races go to post at 2 p.m. with a pari-mutuel card of 14 races scheduled to start at 3 p.m. Tuesday's card features divisions of the Kentucky Proud Series as Oak Grove welcomes the Western Kentucky State Fair to town.
(Oak Grove Racing)