Backlit, and fronting things…Dextrous Dexter Dunn pilots Seaside Ubeaut to a win in the 2-year-old filly pace with a time of 1;50.1. Dunn won two of the championship races Friday along with three more in the preliminaries. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Sonny Fulks)
When you match a fast track and genetics bent on speed you get what patrons got on the opening night of the Breeders Crown – speed, more speed, and a new world’s record for a two-year-old trotter.
Columbus, OH — If only horses could talk.
If they could speak, harness driver Todd McCarthy wouldn’t have had to make such a difficult decision.
He could have stood in front of the stalls occupied by Blazin Lou and Starstruck Dreamer and asked, “OK, guys, how do you feel? Any aches or pains? Who feels fast tonight?”
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That would have been before the 11th race at Eldorado Scioto Downs Friday night.
And it wasn’t just any ol’ 11th race. It was the 11th race of the Breeders Crown, the shiny diamond of Standardbred racing and the biggest harness event ever to transpire on an Ohio track.
It was a beautiful night for racing and with 168 horses on the premises, some of the fastest in the country, records fell, including a world record.
The 11th race was the $700,000 Grade 1 final of the Grand Circuit pace for 2-year-old colts and geldings.
McCarthy, 9,468 miles from his Sydney Australian home to the first turn at Scioto, had his choice to drive Blazin Lou or Starstruck Dreamer.
Starstruck Dreamer, trained by Noel Daley, came to Scioto with five wins and a second in his last six races, all with McCarthy in the sulky.
But Blazin’ Lou, trained by Tony Dinges, had won four of six, including the last three. McCarthy was in the seat for five of those six races.
Driver Todd McCarthy, from Australia, raises his crop in celebration fifty yards from the finish line…as Wrong Sounds Right streaks to the two-year-old trotters championship, setting a new world record of 1.52.1 (five-eighths mile track)
So he had a choice to make. Blazin Lou or Starstruck Dreamer? Starstruck Dreamer or Blazin Lou?
McCarthy didn’t have an Aussie 20-cent platypus coin in his pants to flip, so he made a choice.
Startstruck Dreamer.
Dexter Dunn guides Dame Good Time to victory in one of the prelininary races, one of his five wins on the night.
Wrong choice…sort of.
With McCarthy choosing Starstruck Dreamer, trainer Tony Dinges plopped Dexter Dunn into the bike.
And Dunn fended off two challengers down the stretch to capture the win, tying the track record with 1:50.1 And McCarthy, steering Starstruck Dreamer, finished a close second.
“Early on, I did have a choice,” said McCarthy. “I told (trainer) Tony before the heats (elimination qualifying race) that I was going to stick with Starstruck.
“It was a tough decision to make because both horses are really nice,” he added. “He raced great, so I couldn’t be happier. They both came to the line together. pretty strong. It’s two pretty nice colts.”
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So his two rides finished first and second and he said with a whip-wide grin, “Yeah, exactly. Not too bad. It could be worse.”
McCarthy could be magnanimous. In the previous race, the 10th, McCarthy didn’t have to make a choice in the $700,000 Grade One 2-year-old trot for colts and geldings.
If he had had to make a decision for this race, the horse’s name would have said it all — Wrong Sounds Right.
Driver Scott Zeron drove Birr Castle to a come-from-behind win. “Now that was fun,” said Zeron. “We were going fast enough and when the other horses got tired she side, ‘I’m ready.'”
Wrong definitely sounded right as an odds-on favorite. Not only did McCarthy beat the field, his 1:52.3 was a world record for 2-year-old trotters on a five-eighths mile track.
“He performed just the way we wanted, he’s one big pleasure and that was a big mile he ran,” said McCarthy of Wrong Sounds Wright, a big feisty fellow who acted in the Winner’s Circle as if it was his and his alone…everybody else go away.
It was McCarthy’s third Breeders Crown win and he said, “Yeah, I’ve been lucky enough to win a couple before. It’s pretty cool any time you win one.”
And by vacating Blazin Lou, it enabled Dextrous Dexter Dunn to win two championship races. Not only that, Dunn warmed up by winning three preliminary races before the championship races commenced.
In addition to guiding Blazin Lou home in front, Dunn won the $700,000 2-year-old filly pace with Seaside Ubeaut in 1:50.1.
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She drew the outside eight post and Dunn scrambled her quickly in front by the first turn and held on all the way.
“She’s really come alive the last couple of months,” said the legendary Dunn, a native of Auckland, New Zealand — 8,355 miles from his native city to the Scioto paddock.
Nobody has to give Dunn any free rides. The two Breeders Cup wins Friday gave him 21 for his Hall of Fame career.
Australian Todd McCarthy had two rides and finished with a first and a second.
The man owns more than 4,000 career wins and more than $103 million in purses, making some folks wonder, “Is this guy a horse whisperer?”
“The draw (No. 8) was a bit of a worry and the five-eighths was a bit of a worry, too. But she’s a big filly and she can do it the hard way somewhat,” Dunn added.
The most exciting race was the $700,000 Grade One two-year-old trot for fillies.
As they came down the stretch and neared the wire, most eyes were on Nevis Peak and the favorite, Blue Ranger.
It seemed a cinch one of those two would win it all. Not so fast because Birr Castle was very fast. Birr, far outside, was a blur coming down the stretch, barging boldly out of nowhere and blasting past both Nevis Peak and Blue Racer to win it.
Her driver, Scott Zeron was downright giddy after the race because of the way it was accomplished.
“Now that was fun,” he said. “Yeah, I probably wasn’t even on the screen for most of the mile and being third over.
“But she likes to race other horses late in the mile,” he added. “Obviously, we were going fast enough so when they got tired, she said, ‘I’m ready.’”
Two-year-old filly Seaside Ubeaut has a horse laugh in the winner’s circle after capturing the pacing championship in 1:50.1.
Ah, there is a horse that talks.
“This track is a little bit tough to come from that far back, but obviously you can win from the two and three-hole,” he added.
“But, uh, they were racing so hard up on the front end (Blue Ranger and Nevis Peak) and I just had to tag along for a while and when I asked her for the extra gear it was there for her,” he continued.
It was Birr Castle’s sixth win in nine starts as a 2-year-old baby and said Zeron, “She’s almost never disappointed me.”
One defeat came when Zeron put her on top when the wings folded and she didn’t like it, wondered where were the horses she needed to chase.
“I thought she’d be an easy winner, but she got lost out front and she didn’t like it up there,” said Zeron.
The Breeders Crown continues Saturday night at Scioto when the three-year old sophomores take the track.
All four championship races are for $700,000 and include the 3-year-old pace for colts and geldings, the 3-year-old trot for colts and geldings, the 3-year-old pace for fillies and the 3-year-old trot for fillies.
Simply put…more speed!
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