Adhering to the old adage “catch me if you can” Jim Reynolds, Orange Crush Racing and Terry Rathgeber’s Southern Sport sped right to the front and then took advantage of miscues by several of the top contenders, including 1-5 favourite Delco Willobee
, en route to a 2-3/4 length triumph in Friday’s $100,000 Maywood Pace. The final time of 1:52.2 was a career best for the sophomore.
Hustled right to the front from post position three by driver Todd Warren, the son of Sportsmaster-Dixiegirl grabbed control of the proceedings in the first turn. Also leaving hard from outside posts were Indescribable (Dean Magee) and Voomerang (Marcus Miller). Unfortunately the latter made a break in the opening turn allowing Warren to comfortably lead the field through an opening split in :27.
“With as hard as we were going out of there I was prepared to let those outside two go but once Voomerang made the break I figured it would be best to continue on and put the other horse in the hole behind me,” said Warren.
After watching the pacesetter get away with a soft :29.2 second quarter driver John De Long decided it was time to get things in motion moving the heavy favourite Delco Willobee to the outside from third as the field moved by the half-mile mark in :56.2.
With the top two battling tooth and nail down the backside Southern Sport and Delco Willobee began to pull away from the pocket-sitting Indescribable. With just a head separating the leaders, fans braced for an all out duel as the two geldings were separated by just a head as they flew by the three-quarter-mile mark in 1:24.1.
“I still felt like I had plenty of horse left even as we headed into the last turn,” Warren said. “I got a breather in that second quarter and even though we had to work very hard in the third quarter my horse still felt pretty fresh to me. It’s awfully hard on horses when they have to come first over on this track so I was still confident.”
Disaster struck midway around the final turn for the heavy favourite as Delco Willobee made an uncharacteristic break. That left Warren and Southern Sport alone on the front end as the field turned for home. On cruise control the rest of the way the Kristopher Reynolds trainee was strong to the finish as he sealed the deal with a :28.1 final quarter to notch his second win in 11 starts this year. Indescribable finished second while JHS (Mike Rogers) finished third, 5-1/4 lengths behind the winner.
Overlooked in the wagering despite being the third choice in the morning line odds Southern Sport returned $44.20, $12.60 and $24.60 while running his career earnings up to $74,688.
(Maywood Park)