On a day where Jimmy Takter and Yannick Gingras can do little wrong, the dynamic duo teamed up to win the $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks with the crackerjack trotting filly, Ariana G.
It was a wild charge for the lead going into the first turn, but when the dust settled it was Fine Tuned Lady and Corey Callahan perched on the point through an opening quarter clocked in :27.2. Feed Your Head and Tim Tetrick were parked out and pressing past that post, but they eventually cleared to the lead only to be forced to give way to Ariana G, who sat fifth early before taking the bull by the horns at the mid-way point in :54.4.
Ariana G continued to hold court on the lead past the three-quarter pole in 1:23.1 before she kicked it into overdrive and drew clear to win with condescending ease in 1:51.2 over a hard-charging Magic Presto and Dream Together.
“I was really concerned about Magic Presto and obviously you have to respect the competition,” said Gingras. “When she got away on the first turn and I really didn’t want to be first over that long of the way, I decided to do whatever I needed to do to get her to the front. It wasn’t the best move I think, but she is just a great horse and a great horse can overcome anything.”
One year removed from her older sister -- All The Time -- winning last year’s edition of the Hambletonian Oaks, Ariana G improved her 2017 scorecard to 6-0-1 from seven attempts for Canadian owners Marvin Katz and Al Libfeld. Their homebred is a 15-time winner from 18 trips to the track. The $250,000 payday helped her overall cash stash swell to $1,268,336.
“She did a tremendous mile. It was a tough opening, because she cut all the way to the front due to the high pace,” said Takter. “She is just in a class of her own.”
The Gingras/Takter combo has won four straight Hambletonian Oaks and Takter notched his seventh overall, which makes him the winningest trainer in Oaks history.
Stay tuned with all the happenings on Hambletonian Day with updates posted in the 2017 Hambletonian Day News Centre.
Ariana G should have raced in
Ariana G should have raced in the Hambletonian