The weather forecast for Delaware, Ohio doesn’t look good this week. After a perfect late summer with moderate temps and no humidity or rain, it seems as if central Ohio is going to get very wet in the coming days.
Well Said’s chances in the Little Brown Jug were certainly dampened when he drew the killer post eight in his elimination with his main rival Vintage Master inside of him in post four.
That was enough to make Vintage Master the morning line favorite for the Jug over Well Said. Many races at Delaware have been won or lost when the posts were drawn.
Well Said has been dazzling this year in the North America Cup and Meadowlands Pace and it’s hard to believe that a horse like Vintage Master that’s only won three of his 27 lifetime starts would be favored over him.
Ron Pierce, the driver of Well Said, knows that you don’t win the Jug from off the pace, so he has to get his colt into contention early. Many Jug heats have featured a speed duel to the first quarter---and often beyond the first quarter. Dan Dube with Vintage Master will not likely want to yield to Well Said and let Pierce control the race.
That makes for some interesting driving decisions for the big guns and some good horses have gone down in flames in the Jug because their drivers decided to go for broke in getting to the front.
I can’t wait to see what happens when the wings of the gate close in their elimination heat and Dube and Pierce make their moves.
I just hope that the rain that is predicted to pelt the Delaware fairgrounds this week is over and done by the time Jug Day dawns.