Master Of Law Upsets In Centaur Trot

MasterOfLaw-Centaur-LinscottPhoto-edit.jpg
Published: September 20, 2014 11:07 pm EDT

The talk of the toteboard was Swedish star Sebastian K, but the Jimmy Takter-trained Master Of Law defied his long odds with a perfect second over trip to win the $238,500 Centaur Trotting Classic featured on Saturday night at Hoosier Park.

In rein to his trainer, Master Of Law pulled off the upset, winning in 1:54.2 over the track that was downgraded to "good" after a rain delay a few races earlier.

Creatine (Trace Tetrick) left for the lead from post four with overwhelming 1-9 favourite Sebastian K (Ake Svanstedt) -- with hind leg toe grabs added -- trotting up after a post six start and eventually clearing past the :27-second opening quarter mark. As Sebastian K advanced to the top, outsider Archangel (Yannick Gingras) followed and tucked into an open pocket spot.

Sebastian K trotted on to the half in :55.4 while Natural Herbie (Verlin Yoder) moved underway from mid-pack. Takter followed the live cover with Master Of Law and they were towed up into striking position as Natural Herbie went head-to-head with Sebastian K past the 1:24.4 three-quarters station.

Fanning off cover, Master Of Law charged by the leaders down the stretch for the 21-1 upset victory by over two lengths, returning $44 to his backers at the betting windows. At odds of 52-1, Creatine edged out Natural Herbie, a 17-1 shot, for the runner-up honours while Sebastian K faded to seventh.

"He's not a horse you want to rush out, he's kind of a little funny at the start," noted Takter in a post-race interview. "I got away decent and I figured I might as well go because the rail was a little bit sticky too. I stayed out there. I know he's a strong horse and I got lucky, I got good cover all the way in and the horse took me home."

Master Of Law was purchased in July by the Lindy Racing Stable, Brittany Farms, Adam Victor And Son Stable and Christina Takter. The four-year-old gelded son of Deweycheatumnhowe has won half of his six starts this year and is nine-for-17 in his career.

"He's a good horse, he can play with these guys. He's only four years old and he has a future ahead of him," said Takter. "He's been developing all the time and his manners are getting better. He's staked for everything basically at the end of the year so he could be a good factor here."

Takter also celebrated a victory on the undercard in the Kentuckiana Stallion Management Stakes for two-year-old trotting fillies, which carried purses of approximately $150,000 for each division.

Resetting quickly after a brief miscue at the third quarter mark, Brittany Farms' Speak To Me (Muscle Massive-Miss Naughty) took off down the stretch for a 16 length victory with her nearest pursuer, favourite Gatka Hanover, breaking stride. The Takter trainee set a new track record for two-year-old trotting fillies, hitting the wire in 1:55.2.

"She was a little wound up," noted driver Brett Miller after the race. "Obviously she's very fast. I couldn't really get her to settle down. I was down to the half in :56[.1] I believe and that was a lot faster than I wanted to be down there in. She was getting a little bumpy and in the last turn I couldn't hold her together. She had plenty of 'go' and thank god she caught right back. Like I said, she had plenty of 'go' and she finished up strong."

Speak To Me earned her fifth win in nine starts and boosted her bankroll over the $200,000 mark. Pad Princess and Gold Cora rounded out the top three finishers.

In the next division for trotting fillies, Canadian-owned Livininthefastlane (Donato Hanover-Nicoles Promise) was away fourth and the good-closing filly rallied wide around the pocket-pulling Shaqline and pacesetter Smexi for the two and three-quarter length triumph as the favourite in 1:56. Shaqline finished second and Kirsi Hanover came on for third over Smexi.

"She's a really nice [filly] and my job is pretty easy -- just to get her away from the gate without making a mistake," said driver Tim Tetrick. "She settled in nice and I was comfortable with the fractions they were going. Going into the bottom turn, I moved her and she did the rest. She's very talented."

Livininthefastlane is now three-for-eight with over $165,000 earned for Toronto-based owners Marvin Katz and Sam Goldband, and Al Libfeld of Pickering, Ont.

Tetrick was back in the stakes spotlight in one of the two Elevation Stakes divisions for two-year-old pacing colts and gelding, which were each worth just over $92,000.

Pulling off a 15-1 upset, Supreme Z Tam (Rockin Image-Yankee Pankee Bb) and Tetrick journeyed first over from the backfield and prevailed by half a length over favourite Cooperstown in 1:53.2, with This Baby Rocks finishing third.

"This colt has been racing good all year," noted trainer Jim Arledge Jr. of the Indiana Sires Stakes competitor. "He had to come from behind all the time and he's better from off-the pace. Timmy did a good job with him."

Z Tam Stables owns the winner, who is now two-for-10 with earnings of more than $75,000.

Driven by Yannick Gingras, Rich Wisdom (Dragon Again-Wisedom) overcame a post eight start in the other division, getting away third and kicking home to take a new lifetime mark of 1:52.3. Western Pioneer finished nearly two lengths behind in second with Cinder Lane Rocket third.

"We knew we needed to be aggressive here and me and Yannick talked about it that we would try to get him out of there," said trainer Ron Burke after the race. "When we fell away with the three-hole, I knew we were alright there."

A two-time winner in eight outings, Rich Wisdom is owned by Burke Racing Stable Weaver Bruscemi, JJK Stables and Phillip Collura. He more than doubled his bankroll, which climbed over $85,000.

Gingras joined forces with Burke again to win the $56,000 Jennas Beach Boy Invitational for three-year-olds with 3 Brothers Stables' JK Endofanera prevailing from the pocket in 1:49 by one and a half lengths over favourite Always B Miki, who rallied three-wide early on for the pacesetting role. It was 10 lengths back to Bushwacker in third.

Gingras also won a division of the Kentuckiana for two-year-old pacing fillies with JK Endofanera's undefeated little sister, JK Shesalady (Art Major-Presidential Lady). Owned and bred by the 3 Brothers Stables, the popular filly moved from third after the half en route to a 1:53.4 triumph. Bedroomconfessions finished one and three-quarter lengths behind in second and Divine Caroline was third.

"When she raced in the Eternal Camnation in Canada [on Aug. 16] it was an off track and that was probably one of the best performances I've ever seen a two-year-old do," said trainer Nancy Johansson when asked about the weather and track conditions having any effect on her filly. "Obviously, you don't like to race on an off track, but I didn't really think it was going to bother her because she's just so game she gets it done."

JK Shesalady, who is seven-for-seven with over $400,000 earned in purses, will skip the Bluegrass Series with her next scheduled start in the International Stallion Stakes in Lexington, Kentucky.

The other filly division went to Bettor Be Steppin (Bettors Delight-Two Steppin Sally), who made the lead early from the outside post seven in a blistering :25.3 opening panel and came back on after being shuffled to third to win in a career-best time of 1:52.2. Corey Callahan was the winning driver. The Joe Holloway trainee, now with three wins in seven starts and over $165,000 in the bank, is owned by Val Dor Farms, Rojan Stables and Theodore Gewertz. Gigi Deo closed well for second and Crescent City finished third.

Tags
Have something to say about this? Log in or create an account to post a comment.