The fastest mile in the history of Harrington Raceway was turned in on Monday by Foiled Again in the $354,000 Bobby Quillen Memorial, which featured many of the sport’s free-for-all pacers
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Foiled Again rallied off cover and picked off his stablemate Won The West in a track record clocking of 1:50.1. Yannick Gingras mapped out the winning trip with the pacer, and Gingras had high praise for the pacer’s connections following the come-from-behind score.
Blueridge Western (Dan Dube) shot the early lead from the pole position, and he sliced out a :26.3 opening panel before coming under attack from Won The West in the second quarter. They were 1-2 past the mid-way point in :54.4, and they still held the top two spots at the three-quarter marker in 1:22.3.
Gingras swung off cover in the lane with Foiled Again, and the six-year-old son of Dragon Again-In A Safe Place sprinted home to record the fastest mile in the history of Harrington Raceway. Race favourite Won The West held on gamely for the runner-up award, with Clear Vision (Ron Pierce) rounding out the top three.
"I want to thank everyone involved with the horse," said Gingras, who went on to say, "Tonight he was so sharp, I haven't seen him like this since maybe in the Levy and they deserve a lot of credit. A completely different horse tonight. I told Ronnie [Burke] I didn't think he was any good after last week. It's terrible to say that about a horse that wins in 1:50.3 but he was tired finishing. I think last week did him a lot of good and he was vicious today. They did a great job."
Ron Burke trains the gritty gelding for the partnership of Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC of Pennsylvania along with JJK Stables LLC of Florida. The victory was the pacer’s 41st lifetime tally, and the lion’s share of the purse lifted his earnings to $1,775,044.
(Quotes from Harrington Raceway)