A sloppy track has been an unusual site this season on the Western New York harness scene, but the off going was just what Duke Of Wellington enjoyed Sunday afternoon as he rallied to win the $9,000 Open Trot at Batavia Downs.
Sitting fourth going up the backstretch the final time, driver Kevin Cummings pulled Duke Of Wellington ($17) and tipped three-wide around the far turn. It then became a calvary charge down the stretch as Duke Of Wellington won the battle while Serious George and Semper Fi each had late kicks to finish second and third, respectively.
Duke Of Wellington, a seven-year-old trained by Don Rothfuss, won by a length in a time of 2:00.1.
The victory was the third of the season in 12 starts for Duke Of Wellington, who is owned by Howard Ouriel of Rochester, New York. The win pushed his seasonal earnings to $17,098.
Kevin Cummings had a four-bagger on the afternoon and moved into second place in wins in the drivers standings with 13. Shawn Gray, who leads with 22, had a double, as did John Cummings Jr. and Jim McNeight.
Jim Graham had training three-bagger and tied leader Dave McNeight Jr. in the standings with seven.
(Batavia Downs)