Gale Warning gave leading driver Peter Wrenn one of five wins of the evening Saturday, June 19 in the $25,000 Invitational Trot at Hoosier Park
. Trained by Rodney Lorenzo, the seven-year-old veteran rallied down the stretch to defeat 2009 Indiana’s Older Trotter of the Year Hoosier Cadillac by a neck at the finish in a time of 1:54.1.
Starting from post four in the seven-horse field, Gale Warning was content to move to the inside near the back of the pack, getting away sixth as Speed N The Tunnel and Sam Widger used their inside post position to their advantage and jumped out for the early lead. Hitting every split on top, Speed N The Tunnel set fractions of :26.3, :56, and 1:26.1 before seeing company on the outside.
In the stretch, Gale Warning was second on the outside and ready to step it up a notch. He passed all the horses that were in front of him and only had one contender following him to deal with in the final strides. Hoosier Cadillac and Mark O’Mara followed them closely to the finish, but fell short of the win. Speed N The Tunnel held her ground inside to finish third.
“This horse [Gale Warning] finally found a spot and got a good trip out of the deal,” said Wrenn, who has more than 8,100 career wins. “He’s definitely an Open-type horse so it wasn’t a surprise he won. He’s been around a while and he’s been there before. He’s capable and been racing well. It just worked in his favor tonight.”
Owned by Lorenzo along with Ciro Gentile, Gale Warning now has 40 career wins in 138 career starts. The win boosted his career earnings to more than $410,000 and equaled his career best effort, which was taken earlier this year at Pompano Park. The win was one of two on the night for Lorenzo, who also had a win with Lifes Z Tam (Widger) in the second race.
In addition to his win behind Gale Warning, Wrenn connected for wins with Egotistic Pro, Rods Famous Ribs, and two for trainer Virgil Morgan Jr., Up Front Eli and BVs Sister. Wrenn, who was last year’s leading driver also, now has 144 wins through the first 63 nights of racing at Hoosier Park. He also just went over the $1 million mark for earnings this year at the Anderson, Indiana track.
“I hadn’t even looked at a program before I got here tonight,” said Wrenn. “Things just went my way tonight, and I had good horses to drive. You just never know. Last night, I drove in 12 races and didn’t win one. You just have to turn the page and go on to the next day.”
Dinneratartsplace Wins Photo Finish
In a dramatic finish that placed six of the eight horses in the race less than two lengths from each other, Dinneratartsplace and Sam Widger emerged as the winners, taking home the top prize in the $25,000 co-featured Invitational Pace. The win was the first for Dinneratartsplace at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino, stopping the timer in 1:51.4.
Dinneratartsplace started in the center of the pack behind the Todd Nixon starting gate and rallied out with authority to secure the top position by the quarter-mile marker in :25.2. Robin I Scoot and Trace Tetrick moved to the outside and made their quest a reality at the halfway marker, leading the way in :53.1. The tempo of the race was kept lively around the final turn with Dinneratartsplace directly at the back of Robin I Scoot. Royalton Star and Andy Shetler were flushed out and had to endure the first over route to the top of the stretch.
In the lane, Robin I Scoot dug in gamely as Tetrick knew Dinneratartsplace was ready to pounce. Once he got clearance he tipped off his back and the two matched each other’s stride, exchanging short leads in the final sixteenth of a mile. The remainder of the pack fanned out across the track and was in hot pursuit of the top two, setting up the final strides with an “anybody’s race” scenario at the wire.
In the end, Dinneratartsplace was the winner by only a neck over Robin I Scoot, who would not give in along the inside. Mypanmar and Rick Farrington were also just a neck back in third, just a length ahead of Lisagain (Peter Wrenn), who is prepping for next week’s $200,000 Dan Patch Invitational Pace.
“I didn’t know a lot about this horse [Dinneratartsplace] before tonight,” said Widger. “I’ve watched him race in Chicago before and knew he was kind of a one speed horse. We had some pretty strong fractions early. I thought that if I got out in the stretch and gave him some room, he could probably outlast them. When he got out, he was ready to go by them all.”
Owned by Robert Silberberg and John Schwartz Jr., Dinneratartsplace earned his fourth win of 2010. The five-year-old gelded son of Artsplace now has more than $163,000 in career earnings and 10 career wins. Jim Eaton has trained the competent pacer since the end of his three-year-old season.
A surprise to racing fans, Dinneratartsplace paid $22.60, $7.60, and $8.20 across the board. He was the fourth choice in the talented field.
“He [Dinneratartsplace] drove perfect,” said Widger, who has more than 3,700 career wins. “He’s a two-finger horse and really nice to drive. I think the difference in him this week compared to his last start here a few weeks ago was the trip. When he raced down here before, he just didn’t get in gear.”
Widger has been a great addition to the Hoosier Park driving colony the past two seasons. Always a top driver on the Chicago circuit, he has pulled in 50 wins during the first 63 nights of racing for a spot among the top five drivers in Indiana. His win with Dinneratartsplace was one of two on the card Saturday, also picking up a victory in the second race with Lifes Z Tam.
(Hoosier Park)