Two-year-old pacing and trotting colts returned to Ocean Downs on Monday, Aug. 24 for the second preliminary leg of the Maryland Sire Stakes, with Shootout, Free Shot and Wings Of Warning collecting victories in the three $13,699 divisions.
Trainer Steve LeBlanc and sire Wearinmysixshooter stole the spotlight on the pacing side of the program, sweeping both divisions with Shootout and Free Shot, while Wings Of Warning produced an impressive last-to-first rally in the lone trotting division.
Shootout kicked off the stakes action with the fastest performance of the pacing splits, winning in a career-best 1:57.2 for driver Roger Plante Jr.
Starting from the rail, Plante wasted little time establishing control with the son of Wearinmysixshooter-The New Americana. Shootout led the field through fractions of :28.2, :59.1 and 1:29.3, with the favoured opening-leg winner Cash Is Better (Corey Braden) sitting closest to the leader throughout.
The moderate middle fractions set the stage for a sprint to the finish, and Shootout was ready. Plante called on his colt entering the stretch and Shootout responded with a :27.4 final quarter, holding Cash Is Better at bay by a length. Cash Is Better, the 1-5 favourite, matched Shootout’s closing speed but could get no closer, finishing second. Octavian (Russell Foster) turned in a noteworthy effort to finish third; after trailing the leader by 16-1/2 lengths at the opening quarter, he steadily worked his way back into contention.
Shootout is trained by Le Blanc for Delaware owners Glenn Dyke of Townsend, Leblanc Racing of Felton and James Stuart of Harringont. The colt bred by Dyke has finished no worse than second in his first six starts, with four wins.
Two races later, Free Shot completed the Sire Stakes sweep for his trainer and sire, winning the second pacing division in 1:58.4.
Sent off as the 2-5 favourite, Free Shot and driver Jonathan Roberts left alertly from post two and moved to command early. Once in control, Roberts was able to rate the son of Wearinmysixshooter-Free Flight Fran through fractions of :29.2, 1:00.1 and 1:29.1.
Hes Got Talent (Eric Davis) tracked the leader closely from second and remained within striking distance entering the stretch. The two youngsters battled through the final eighth, with Hes Got Talent steadily cutting into the leader’s advantage. Free Shot had enough left to fend off the challenge, however, reaching the wire a half-length in front. Hes Got Talent settled for second and Major Dapper had the edge in a close show finish. Only 2-3/4 lengths separated the entire five-horse field at the finish.
Free Shot is also owned by Dyke along with Douglas Johnson of Williamston, North Carolina. Free Shot is now two-for-four with two other top three finishes on his resume.
While the pacing divisions were decided largely from the front, the evening’s lone trotting division featured a dramatically different winning trip as Wings Of Warning came from last to first for a 2:05.1 maiden-breaking victory in his second start.
Driver Steve Smith was content to settle the son of Wings Of Royalty-Concentration at the back of the six-horse field while Lil Gerald (Russell Foster) established the pace through fractions of :31.1, 1:03.2 and 1:34.4.
At the half, Wings Of Warning remained sixth and 11-3/4 lengths behind the leader. Then Smith went to work. Wings Of Warning launched his bid on the backstretch, advancing rapidly on the outside and moving from sixth into striking position approaching the final turn. After sitting nearly a dozen lengths behind at the half, he had cut the deficit nearly in half by three-quarters.
Turning for home, Wings Of Warning continued to build momentum and swept into contention. Opening-leg winner My Mago (Jared Moyer), who had tracked the leader throughout much of the mile, battled gamely through the stretch, but Wings Of Warning’s late momentum proved too much. Wings Of Warning trotted his own final quarter in a field-best :29.1, completing the last-to-first rally and defeating My Mago by three-quarters of a length. Longshot Docs Mago (William Carter) rallied to finish third with Lil Gerald fading to fourth.
Wings Of Warning is trained by Dawn Anderson and owned and bred by Raymond Campbell Jr. of Belchertown, Massachusetts.
Maryland Sire Stakes action continues on Wednesday, Aug. 26 with the second preliminary leg for two-year-old fillies. First post is 6:40 p.m.
(With files from Maryland Standardbred Fund)