Dawn Amiss' homebred Fantastic Voyage protected pole position and powered clear of his six foes for a decisive 1:52.1 win in the $16,438 Open 1 Handicap Pace at Ocean Downs on Sunday, June 2.
Jared Moyer pushed forward with Fantastic Voyage at the start of the one-mile race before briefly yielding control to 3-5 favourite Nuttin But Finesse (Johanthan Ahle), who cleared at the end of a :27.3 first quarter. Immediately after ceding the lead, Moyer angled Fantastic Voyage back to the outside to reclaim the lead with five-eighths to go, and the pair rolled through middle splits of :56.3 and 1:24.2 before steadily widening their advantage through the stretch. The seven-year-old son of Cool Flying Fun drew 3-1/4 lengths clear of runner-up Nuttin But Finesse. Last week's Open winner Lyons Stealth (William Carter) sustained mild gains into third after losing cover up the backstretch.
Deshawn Sample trains 28-time winner Fantastic Voyage, who won for the third time in 11 starts this season. He returned $12.80 to win.
In the sub-featured $13,699 Open 2 Pace, Moment To Shine (William Carter, $5) sat off a blistering pace set by Volley Ball Beach before closing steadily through the far turn to reel in the runaway leader and win going away by three lengths over Danger Zone in 1:53.2. Stacey Laviolette trains the six-year-old Captaintreacherous gelding for Lucky Label Stable LLC.
Trae Porter led all drivers with three wins on the 13-race card. Roger Plante Jr. and Russell Foster both recorded doubles.
Racing returns to Ocean Downs on Wednesday, June 5 with a 12-race card set to commence at 7:05 p.m.
(Ocean Downs)