Continuing to show that he is going to be a force to be reckoned with among this season's Illinois conceived and foaled three-year-old colt pacing set, Paymaq Racing’s Uncle Ugly turned Friday’s $92,000 Maywood Pace into nothing more than a stroll in the park as he cruised to a beautiful five-length victory in 1:53.3 for driver John De Long.
Gunned away from post position five by De Long, the gelded son of Yankee Skyscaper - Yankee Blue took an early tuck behind longshot Fox Valley Cupid (Robert Smolin) before looping that rival as the two sped by an opening quarter in a brisk :27.1.
“I was a little surprised that horse (Fox Valley Cupid) was able to get away from the gate as quickly as he did,” said De Long. “I never anticipated having to take an early tuck but I knew that horse was a longshot and I wanted to be in control of things so I waited for things to settle down just a bit then just sent my horse back on his way.”
Rolling along through the heavy humid air Uncle Ugly proceeded to put up middle splits of :55.2 and 1:23.3 while his rivals struggled to maintain a deteriorating outer flow.
After turning aside a first over bid from PQ Three (Ryan Anderson) and watching the overwhelming 1-2 favourite Unlocked (Dave Magee) make a break while trying to move up three-wide, De Long and Uncle Ugly began to draw away from the pocket sitting Fox Valley Cupid as the field moved into the final turn.
“I was a little nervous heading into that last turn because I knew some of Erv’s (Miller) other horses were still looming out there but my horse just picked up the bit again and really started to dig in,” said a smiling De Long.
Dig in he did, quickly sprinting away from the rest of the field as he left no doubt as to who was the best on this night while cruising under the wire with his fifth win in 10 lifetime starts. Fox Valley Cupid, the 28-1 longshot did well to hold on for second while Beach Boy Brody (Casey Leonard) overcame a miscue at the half-mile mark to rally for the show dough.
The second choice in the wagering, Uncle Ugly returned $4.80 and $4.80. Show wagering was not allowed on the race. Unraced as a two-year-old, Uncle Ugly, who was a $19,000 yearling purchase now boasts a record of five wins, two seconds and two thirds in 10 starts with earnings of $84,012 while under the watchful eye of trainer Erv Miller.
(Maywood)