Well Said Captures The Little Brown Jug

Well Said capped off a tremendous edition of the Little Brown Jug on Thursday, September 24 at the Delaware County Fair in Ohio. The Western Hanover colt came on in the later stages of the second heat for driver Ron Pierce and trainer Steve Elliott

. Well Said stopped the clock in 1:51.4 over a track which was downgraded to 'good.'

The possibility of a race-off was dashed in the back-half of the mile when opening heat victors Well Said and If I Can Dream locked up for a one-on-one battle from the final turn onward. The pair of dueling colts opened up significant lengths between themselves and the rest of the field as they sparred. If I Can Dream was game and didn't throw in the towel at any point, but Well Said was not to be stopped on this day, as he passed his pace-setting rival in the stretch en-route to victory.

Well Said is owned by Jeffrey Snyder of New York, New York and the Lothlorien group of Cheltenham, Ontario.

Via the Jug victory, Well Said has become only the second horse to win the North America Cup, Meadowlands Pace and Little Brown Jug in the same year. The only other horse to have done it was Precious Bunny.

Firing out from Post 1, If I Can Dream and driver Tim Tetrick grabbed hold of the front-end and led the rest of the eight-horse field to the opening quarter in :27.4. After starting from Post 2, Pierce got off the gate in good order with Well Said and opted to deposit the colt in the four-hole behind River Shark (driven by Luc Ouellette) and Mr Wiggles (Corey Callahan), respectively.

Pierce didn't instantly send Well Said to the lead. Biding his time, Pierce had angled Well Said second-over behind Mr Wiggles' cover as If I Can Dream rolled to the opening half-mile marker in :56.4.

It was in the third quarter of the race where Pierce started to slip Well Said into a higher gear. Tipped three-wide in the third quarter, the Western Hanover colt began has jaunt to the leader and had engaged If I Can Dream by the 1:24.2 three-quarters pole. The pair of colts put on quite a show for the Jug faithful in the final quarter, but Well Said was too much to hold off, as the colt firmly placed his bid for divisional honours both north and south of the border.

After Well Said's opening-heat victory, Pierce stated that the colt had another gear that nobody has seen yet. According to Pierce's comment after the second-heat win, fans did not see that gear in the today's Jug finale.

"Corey [Callahan and Mr Wiggles] took us down the backstretch, and I decided just to get it over with. I could have just blew by him [If I Can Dream] if I wanted to."

If I Can Dream finished second and the Dave Palone-driven Straight Shooting finished third. River Shark was fourth in the mile, while Vintage Master, driven by Dan Dube, picked up the final purse cheque.

Well Said Speaks Volumes In Second Elim; Final Set

With Ron Pierce virtually motionless in the bike, Well Said tipped three-wide on the final turn to authoritatively defeat his eight rivals in the second and fastest elimination of the Little Brown Jug in

1:51.1.

As Pierce settled his colt away in fifth behind favoured Vintage Master (Dan Dube), Carnivore (Jody Jamieson) used pole position to sprint to the lead in a speedy :26.3 with Sheer Desire (Dave Palone) in the pocket and Chasin Racin (Dave Miller) in third.

Dube was the first to commit to the outside before the half and that flushed Miller and Chasin Racin from third, forcing him first up before the :55.1 half. Down the backside, Dube tipped Vintage Master three-wide and Pierce followed with Well Said as the field hit three quarters in 1:23.1. With Chasin Racin backing through, Dube was able to move in a lane and that allowed Pierce clear sailing in the three path. Around the final turn, Well Said exploded and pulled clear of the pacesetter with Pierce sitting super chilly as the duo tripped the timer in 1:51.1. Vintage Master stayed for second over Sheer Desire with Carnivore holding for the final spot in the second heat.

"Steve [trainer Elliott] brought him into this race just right," said Pierce after the win. "We had an easy qualifier up at Mohawk and then an easy win. He haven't asked him for much, he's nice and fresh."

When asked about the 8 hole and the trip, Pierce said "I figured I'd just have to get around a couple of them, this colt is so good. I wasn't worried about the trip as long as the colt showed up. All I had to do is get a little mud in my eyes, tip him and he did the rest."

Pierce was then asked by Ellie Sarama if the colt that anything left in the tank. He grinned and dryly replied, "that colt has got another gear that we haven't shown anybody yet."

Big Mile For If I Can Dream In First Jug Heat

The first division of the Little Brown Jug's first heat featured a full 10-horse field this afternoon at Ohio's Delaware County Fair, and what a race it turned out to be

.

Solid early action produced an action-packed race with numerous horses right at the wire.

After starting from Post 10 and working his way up to the leaders in the later stages of the dash, driver Tim Tetrick and the Tracy Brainard-trained If I Can Dream paced three-wide through the lane and got up to record a tight victory in 1:52.

River Shark (driven by Luc Ouellette) started from Post 5 and cut the fractions, which were recorded in :26.2, :54.2 and 1:22.3. Driver Dave Palone had pulled Straight Shooting first-up close to the half-way point, and the Western Terror colt did his best to grind down River Shark the rest of the way.

With River Shark and Straight Shooting duking it out on the front-end, Tetrick and If I Can Dream were ranging three-wide, while Mr Wiggles (Corey Callahan) sat the pocket and swelled with pace.

If I Can Dream continued on the outside in the late stages and got up for the timely win. Straight Shooting sustained his drive and finished second. Mr Wiggles scooted along the rail late and finished third. River Shark, who had essentially shut Mr Wiggles' inner lane off, held on for fourth. Although, an inquiry on Callahan's stretch drive of Mr Wiggles would result to an adjustment of the order of finish.

The judges determined that Callahan and Mr Wiggles gained advantage over one horse in the stretch after going inside a pylon. The judges subsequently placed Mr Wiggles fourth and promoted River Shark up to third.

While the judges' inquiry was occurring, victorious driver Tetrick couldn't have been happier. "Thank god the horse (If I Can Dream) is on his game," he said in a trackside interview. "I was three-wide the last three-eighths of the mile. I give all the credit to the horse, he put in a great effort."

Tetrick also added that he didn't think the heat racing would take too much out of If I Can Dream for the rest of the day's dashes. "He's a tough little dude, he's done it before in the Confederation Cup. I think he'll be fine."

The undercard for the Jug also featured a world record in the Old Oaken Bucket, a stretch drive slugfest in the Winbak Pace and a classy mare showing track size makes no difference to her in the Ms. Versatility.

Trot Insider has compiled a photo gallery of Little Brown Jug Day 2009 at the Delaware County

Fair in Ohio.

Click here to view the gallery.