The field is now set for the $400,000 Delvin Miller Adios Final after three $25,000 eliminations were contested on Saturday (July 20) at The Meadows.
The complexity of the event changed drastically with the scratch of highly-regarded Workin Ona Mystery. Trainer Brian Brown told Trot Insider that his colt had a high white blood cell count and was scratched as a precaution.
The second choice on the morning line was Captain Victorious, who went off at even money. Driver Yannick Gingras asked Captain Victorious for some early speed from post three, challenged by Wild Wild Western (Mike Wilder). Wild Wild Western cleared and fronted the field through a :26.1 opening quarter. Gingras eased Captain Victorious out of the pocket and right-lined his colt as the field straightened in front of the grandstand en route to a :55.2 first half.
Branquinho (Tyler Buter) was advancing first-over heading into the backstretch, flushing Odds On Boca Raton (Dexter Dunn) from third. Odds On Boca Raton became the main threat to Captain Victorious through a 1:22.4 third panel before starting to fade. Branquinho tipped three-wide around that cover around the final turn with a ton of pace but could not make a serious dent in the lead of Captain Victorious. Gingras guided his colt through a :28 final quarter to trip the timer in 1:50.4, with Branquinho and Wild Wild Western completing the top three and advancing to the $400,000 final.
"I had to keep him to his task in the stretch," Gingras said. "He definitely is a lazy horse, and he goes what you ask him to go. If you really get after him, he'll take off in another gear, but we didn't need to do that."
Trained by Ron Burke for The Captain V Stable, Fredericktown, Penn., Captain Victorious picked up his second win of the season in eight starts and bumped his seasonal earnings to $117,322.
Prince Of Tides might not have been tussling with the division's best in the most recent stakes events but the sophomore certainly looked like he belongs with an absolute trouncing of his foes in the second Adios elimination.
Sent off as the 4-5 favourite, driver Dave Palone used his rail position to solidify a a spot among the early contenders. Marco Beach (Matt Kakaley) was intent on the front from post six, and paid the price through a :26.1 opener to get there. Palone quickly looped to the lead and looked strong on the front through middle panels of :54.3 and 1:21.3.
At the three-quarter mark, Prince Of Tides said adios to his rivals and opened up a quick five around the final turn. The margin of that lead increased with each stride as Prince Of Tides hit the wire some eight lengths the best in 1:49.4. Reigning Deo (Andy McCarthy) was able to get a head in front of Quatrain Blue Chip (David Miller) for second.
"He's a versatile horse, but I'd rather be against the cones in the last turn," Palone said. "He's a big horse. I had to go to a bigger bike on him to make sure he didn't hit it. But he's beautiful to drive."
A regally-bred son of Somebeachsomewhere and Tug River Princess, Prince Of Tides is trained by his dam's conditioner, Ross Croghan for Let It Ride Stables Inc. and Dana Parham of Boca Raton, Fl. as well as Howard Taylor of Philadelphia, Penn. In 10 sophomore starts, Prince Of Tides now sports a 7-1-1 record with wins in his last five starts. The winner's share of the purse puts his seasonal earnings at $97,010.
The fastest of the three eliminations came from lightly-raced Southwind Ozzi, who has finished first or second in each of his sophomore starts. Making his first start since late May, he kept that streak going with a solid off-the-pace 1:49.3 effort.
Driver Brian Sears was able to find a spot in fifth off the gate for favoured Southwind Ozzi as Escapetothebeach (Tim Tetrick) and Stag Party (Dexter Dunn) took turns on the lead early. Second choice Stag Party fronted the field through a :55 half, with first-up Semi Tough (Kakaley) providing cover to a second-over Southwind Ozzi down the backside.
Semi Tough was on near even footing with Stag Party through a 1:21.4 third station but couldn't sustain that bid around the final turn. Sears took that cue and right-lined Southwind Ozzi into the three path to take aim at the pacesetter. In the stretch, Stag Party couldn't hold off the fresh threat of Southwind Ozzi, who floated by while holding off the late push of a reemerging Escapetothebeach by three parts of a length in 1:49.3. Stag Party was a length and a half back in third, clinching the final spot in next Saturday's final.
Trained by Bill MacKenzie, Southwind Ozzi (Somebeachsomewhere - Southwind Solara) is owned by New Jersey's Vincent Ali Jr. and Alma Iafelice. The bay ridgling has yet to miss the top two in five seasonal starts, with four wins and a solid second-place finish to Captain Crunch over a sloppy surface at Pocono.
"I was tickled to death when he dropped in because I knew he would get a good trip from there," said Bruce Baker, second trainer for MacKenzie. "First over doesn't bother him; he likes it. He's an amazing horse. He's got speed, he can leave, he can come home."
The three elim winners pick their posts for the 2019 Delvin Miller Adios final, with the rest drawn on Tuesday (July 23) at 12:30 p.m. Here are the horses that advance to the Adios final in alphabetical order, with trainer and driver.
Branquinho (Tyler Buter – Ray Schnittker)
Captain Victorious (Yannick Gingras – Ron Burke)
Escapetothebeach (Tim Tetrick – Tony Alagna)
Prince Of Tides (Dave Palone – Ross Croghan)
Quatrain Blue Chip (David Miller – Chris Oakes)
Reigning Deo (Andrew McCarthy – Brett Pelling)
Southwind Ozzi (Brian Sears – Bill MacKenzie)
Stag Party (Dexter Dunn – Casie Coleman)
Wild Wild Western (Mike Wilder – Norm Parker)
The also eligible will be Brassy Hanover, as he was the fourth-place finisher with the highest career bankroll.
The Adios Day card, which will include six Grant Circuit stakes and a $50,000 Invitational, will kick off at 11:25 a.m., with the $400,000 Adios heading to post as Race 15. Adios Day also will feature a guest appearance by one of harness racing’s most revered celebrities — Foiled Again, who retired as the richest Standardbred ever with earnings exceeding $7.5 million. Foiled Again will lead the post parades for the Adios and the Invitational, which has been named in his honour.
(with quotes from MSOA)