Winning the $9,000 Open Pace at Batavia Downs seemed like a walk in the park for Cobble Beach on Saturday night (Sept. 19) as he made putting away the competition look pretty much stress-free.
Assigned post seven, Cobble Beach (Jack Flanigen) left sharply to take a lead he would not relinquish this night. With the field in post position order behind him, Cobble Beach set fractions of :27.3 and :56.3 before a weak outer flow developed past five-eighths.
As the group hit the six-furlong marker in 1:26.1, the outside threat failed just as Spender Hanover (Don Rothfuss) and Closing Credits (Dave McNeight III) came out to take their best shot after following quietly on the pylons. But their best wasn’t good enough as Cobble Beach coasted to an easy two-length victory in 1:55.2.
The win was the sixth in 32 starts this year for Cobble Beach ($8.40) and the purse increased his earnings to $63,065 for 2015. The five-year-old gelded son of Artiscape is owned and trained by James Clouser Jr.
The Downs' top two drivers, Kevin Cummings and Dave McNeight III, both scored driving triples Saturday while Jack Flanigen and Sean Mcdonough both doubled their pleasure.
(With files from Batavia Downs)