Scott Woogen's Six Bax ($26.80) held off stern pressure to upset as the longest shot on the board in Saturday (August 6) evening's featured $11,000 Open 1 Trot at Tioga Downs, giving driver Jim Taggart Jr. one of his four wins on the 10-race card.
The seven-year-old Kadabra gelding emerged with the early lead, forcing Don Dorado (Mike Simons) into the pocket through a :27.1 first quarter before bracing for an extended first-over challenge from Its Payday Friday (Ronnie Morales) through middle splits of :56.2 and 1:24.3. Six Bax dug in to rebuff the challenge of Its Payday Friday on the far turn and subsequently held sway of a belated rally from Oh No Three O (Jeff Long), who swung four-wide in the straight off a fourth-over trip. Six Bax prevailed by three-quarters of a length in 1:54.3, while Oh No Three O finished a neck better than Its Payday Friday to just claim second.
Gary Messenger trains Six Bax, who scored his sixth win in 16 tries this year. Messenger and Taggart also teamed up with Cool Breeze de Vie ($2.40, 1:54.4) and Im Fabulous ($5.60, 1:57), while Steven Moore trainee Murs Son ($16.80, 2:00) rounded out Taggart's driving grand slam.
The 50-cent Pick 5 will carry over again to Sunday (August 7) afternoon's 12-race card, with $531.91 of added money on the line should anyone succeed in selecting the first five winners. Post time for the Sunday opener is set for 1:30 p.m. Eastern.
(Tioga Downs)