Duded Up, who comes from a family line that includes multiple stakes winners, has emerged from the woodwork and looks to be a top contender for trainer Ira Fisher in this Saturday’s $333,200 final of the Goodtimes Trot
at Mohawk Racetrack.
Unraced at two, the Windsongs Legacy – Clarice Marie sophomore colt, who is a $112,000 Lexington Select sale purchase, has made only three starts this year, but remains undefeated.
“Last year I worked with Anders Wolden and he and [owner Ely Iversen] picked him out as a yearling. Duded Up trained down last year under Anders and he popped a curb and we just turned him out. Anders left and I took over from there,” explains Fisher.
“He looked like he had a lot of potential so we didn’t want to rush him back and his first stake race was the Goodtimes. We did pay him into the Tie Silk, but that would have been rushing him to get him ready for that so we were shooting for the Goodtimes.”
Last Saturday, Duded Up won the fastest Goodtimes elimination in a career-best clocking of 1:55 by over three lengths after making the lead at the half.
“I knew he was a good colt, but I didn’t think he was going to step up to be like that. In the race at the three-quarter pole when Chris [Christoforou] pulled the plugs out I was a little worried, but Chris said he just tapped him with the whip and he took off. He shut him down about halfway down the lane and didn’t have to ask him again.”
Fisher says his pupil, who is assessed as the 9-2 second choice in the morning line, trained good yesterday and going into the final he will simply hand the reins over to Christoforou and wish him luck.
“You don’t have strategy going into races like that. You don’t know what’s going to happen when the wings fold. Any one of the 10 horses can win the race,” he says adding that Federal Flex will, however, be the one to beat. “I’d just like to wish everyone luck in the race.”
Fisher says Duded Up will enjoy a break following the final and then return to action for a few overnight races.
“He’ll stay at Mohawk, but he’ll have a break after this race even though he will only have raced four times. He deserves a break and he’s going to get one to freshen up a little bit more.”
Duded Up’s next stakes race will be the Simcoe in September and then the Trotting Classic. “If he does well in that we’ll probably supplement him into the Breeders Crown.”
Duded Up will start from Post 2 in the $333,200 Goodtimes Trot scheduled for Race 3 on Saturday, June 27 at Mohawk.
To view Saturday’s entries, click here.