Owned and trained by Robert Dutilly, the 7-year-old got a picture perfect drive from Wally Hennessey, stalking the pacesetting My Man (Kevin Wallis) through fractions of :26.3, :55.1 and 1:24.2 before turning up the heat on the leader turning for home and drawing clear through the lane -- and easily holding off the late charging I’ll Tell You What (Dave Ingraham) and Celebrity Legacy (Bruce Ranger). My Man did hold on for fourth while Pure Barre (Mickey McNichol) trotted the fastest final panel of the septet and finished fifth.
After the two length victory, driver Hennessey said, “He got the perfect trip tonight. It’s not the easiest thing to get a horse away well from the rail here, but he was very alert leaving. We were going a good clip early on and I thought that might take some sting out of the leader so I decided to be patient with him and tip him turning for home. He did the rest for me in the lane.”
For the lightly raced Tug River Dylan -- he’s had only 13 starts since the beginning of 2012 -- it was his third win of the year in six starts and sent his bankroll to $14,340.
Despite the fact that his winning mile last week was “several lengths” faster than the competition, Tug River Dylan was sent off at 10-1 on the toteboard and paid $22.80 to win.
The Open II Trot went to Spin Spanky Spin, in 1:57, for Dan Daley.
Enjoying a dip in class from the Open I ranks, the 7-year-old son of Conway Hall was away third and chasing She’s All In (Rick Plano) and Good Luck Penny (Wally Hennessey) through soft opening panels of :29.3 and :59.2 before leaving the pocket three-eighths out and grinding forward to within a length of the leader past three-quarters, in 1:27.1, and then collaring She’s All In just yards from the wire. McTiny’s Hope was a very-fast-closing third while Good Luck Penny and New York Attitude picked up the remaining marbles in the field of six.
Owned by Ann-Mari Daley, Spin Spanky Spin won for the third time in 2013, sending his lifetime bounty to $228,616.
Driver Dan Daley said, “I was a bit worried when the fractions were kind of tepid for the class but Spanky can grind forward a long way and he proved that tonight.”
The second choice in the wagering, Spin Spanky Spin paid $7.80 to win.