In a heroic effort up the inside, Leave It To Leo capped off a wild finish with a 25-1 upset in the $30,556 Open Handicap Pace at Hoosier Park on Friday, Sept. 4.
Driven by Jordan Ross for trainer Dee Smith, Leave It To Leo sat at the back of the eight-horse field while M M S Bud (John De Long) and Golden Bay N (Trace Tetrick) gunned for the early lead. Golden Bay N held the advantage at the first quarter in :25.4 with M M S Bud and Shamwow (Brandon Bates) rounding out the top three.
Captain Arturovico (Marcus Miller) joined the action along the outside, cruising up to the lead at the halfway point in :53.3. M M S Bud then mounted a charge from third with 2-1 favourite Little Rocket Man (Kyle Wilfong) in tow. Leave It To Leo remained along the rail moving into seventh as he surveyed the action from behind the pacers.
Captain Arturovico held onto the lead by a thread at the three-quarters in 1:21.3 as M M S Bud accelerated on the turn and passed the leader. Meanwhile, Leave it To Leo awakened from the backfield, hitting the jets along the rail.
Golden Bay N blazed past M M S Bud in the stretch but Leave It To Leo fired off a :26.2 final quarter to collar him and hit the wire in 1:49.1. Golden Bay N finished a neck back while Little Rocket Man got up for third.
Leave It To Leo paid $52.60 for the upset win.
The victory was his ninth of the year in 27 starts, boosting his lifetime earnings to $374,615. The six-year-old Bettors Delight-Sunshine Patriot gelding was claimed in June by Perry Smith of Crete, Illinois.
Leave It To Leo completed a three-win night for trainer Dee Smith, who had earlier wins on the 14-race card with Codys Watching ($22.40), driven by Atlee Bender, in 1:50.4 and Six Sticks Of Gum ($3) in 1:48.4 with Marcus Miller aboard. The rookie Crete, Illinois conditioner now has 34 career wins.
Live harness racing returns at Hoosier Park on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 5:30 p.m. with a 13-race card and On To Norway headlining the Open Trot in race nine. The Fillies & Mares Open Pace will take place in race six with Canttouchthese back in action. The Saturday night card includes a $7,500 USD guaranteed Late Pick 4 and the $7,500 USD guaranteed Late Hoosier High 5 done in partnership with the United States Trotting Association's Strategic Wagering Program.
(With files from Hoosier Park)