The iron tough Foiled Again went to the front and didn’t look back in Monday’s $335,000 Bobby Quillen Memorial at Harrington Raceway, and in doing so he became the oldest horse in the history of harness racing to rack up more than $1 million in earnings
in a single season.
The seven-year-old son of Dragon Again-In A Safe Place easily defended his title in the rich event for the tandem of driver Yannick Gingras and trainer Ronnie Burke, who watched the charismatic campaigner stop the teletimer in an eye-catching clocking of 1:51.3.
Gingras wasted no time hustling Foiled Again to the lead from his pole position perch, and the 1-5 favourite had seven foes chasing him past the quarter pole in :27.1. He felt mild pressure in the middle splits from his parked out stablemate, Atochia, who failed to see pylons past intervals of :57 and 1:25. Gingras let Foiled Again rattle home in :26.3 after dictating the tempo through the first three-quarters of the contest, and that earned the veteran the easy score over the pocket-sitting Pangiorno and Atochia.
“It definitely feels great,“ said Gingras of the landmark win. “It was the first time I’ve ever driven a horse that made over a million in a year. The $3 million mark is also very special. Maybe at some point he’ll get the respect he deserves. He’s just a great horse, one of the toughest horses that ever lived. I’m just happy for the horse. I’ve driven him for four years now, and he’s given me some great thrills. To have something like that on resume is definitely special to me.”
The 55-time winner improved his 2011 record to 11-4-5 in 23 starts for the partnership of Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC and JJK Stables LLC. The lion’s share of the purse increased this year’s bankroll to $1,018,200 while his lifetime total climbed to $3,039,269.
The Quillen is named in honour of late, long time Delaware legislator Bobby Quillen, who passed away in 2004. Quillen always had horsemen’s best interests at heart and was a board member of Harrington Raceway and the Delaware State Fair.
(With files from Harrington Raceway)