Favoured Foiled Again ($3.20) won the $100,000 Battle of Lake Erie at Northfield Park Saturday, going gate-to-wire in 1:50.4, defeating Jeremys Successor by a head in the 24th annual edition of the race
. Blueridge Western was third.
Matt Kakaley drove the winner for Burke Racing, Weaver Bruscemi LLC and JJK Stable. Ron Burke trains Foiled Again, a five-year-old son of 2000 Battle champ Dragon Again. He becomes the first son of a Battle winner to win the Battle of Lake Erie. The win was his eighth in 11 seasonal races and pushed his career earnings $778,023.
Ohio Sires Sophomores Shine On 'Lake Erie' Undercard
Sophomore colt and gelding trotters and pacers contested $16,000 second division legs at Northfield Park Saturday night as part of the Battle of Lake Erie undercard and the action was fast and furious throughout.
The evening started with three straight splits for the trotters. The evening opened with a dominant perforace by the Emile Angus gelding Colby D ($15.60). In line to trainer Jim Dailey, he waited patiently while My Moms Career and then Master In Charge took the field through fractions of :29, :59.1 and 1:28.1 before moving in the final turn to get an easy win in 1:58.2, a lifetime best. He defeated V Squared and Chewey. Owned by Keith Ross of Bellefonatine, Ohio, the win was the fourth in 12 starts for Colby D, who was unraced at two.
The second heat saw Goldn Chip Chip ($12.60) score a minor upset for Daryl Sherman and owner/trainer Kent Sherman. In line to Ryan Stahl, he went by tiring leader Aloha Hooray and then held off Iliketherain to win in 1:58.3. The win was the second in eight starts this year for the Chip Chip Hooray gelding.
The third split went to favoured >A href="http://trackit.standardbredcanada.ca/?op=QRAP&id=527007">Sun Of A Victory ($3.60) who led at every call for owner James Shipley of Mount Vernon, trainer Doug Rine and driver Robin Miller. The 1:58.2 mile, a lifetime best, got him to the wire ahead of New Riegel Star and Touch Of Chip. It was the third win in six starts this year for the Victory Sam gelding.
After a one-race respite for overnight pacers, the fourth trotting heat was contested and favoured Chips And Wings ($2.80) easily turned back B Contemporary and Masters Cook to get the win in 1:58.1. The son of Chip Chip Hooray is trained by Ron Burke foir Burke racing, Weaver Bruscemi Llc and Frank Baldachino. The win pushed his 2009 summary to 6-3-2-1, $30,550.
The first pacing Sires split went to Worthys Magic and Chris Page, who won for the sixth time in nine starts. He is owned by Ed Mullinax, Ron Broadstone, and trainer Virgil Morgan, Jr. Noble Thought was second and Sadies Legacy, finished third. The winner is a gelded son of Cams Magic Trick.
The second pacing heat saw another favourite win as Dance With Dan ($3.00) was parked past the quarter but controlled the race after clearing, easily posting a 1:53.4 win for driver Rodney Bolon and trainer Kent McGee, who shares title on the Precious Bunny gelding with Charles Minger. Mr Shady got a perfect pocket trip to be second and J Cruise closed from well back to take home the show money. It was Dance With Dan’s ninth career win in 16 starts.
After Foiled Again won the Battle of Lake Erie, undefeated Special D ($6.00) took the final Ohio Sires pacing split with a grinding 1:54.3 effort, eventually wearing down a game Somethinsgotagive. Chris Page drove the Brian Brown-trained Stand Forever gelding for James Koehler, Daniel Wozniak and William Robinson. The win also put a 2009 Chevy Malibu in the garage of patron Mary Ann Romanski, of Warren, Ohio. She had drawn Special D as her horse from among nine finalists who had either redeemed special mystery vouchers or whose names had been drawn earlier.
The George Verban Memorial Invitational, honouring the late Elyria Chronicle-Telegram racing writer, was won by Stringtowner ($7.00) and Tony Hall in 1:54.1. Bruce Riegle trains the eight-year-ld Towner’s Big Guy gelding for Chuck Grubbs. Category Six was second and Coal Black Beauty third.
(Northfield Park)