'Wiggle It' Prevails In Dayton Duel

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Published: September 30, 2016 10:11 pm EDT

As the field headed into the stretch, the $150,000 Dayton Pacing Derby turned into another duel between rivals Always B Miki and Wiggle It Jiggleit, with the latter gaining the slight advantage at the wire for the Friday (September 30) feature victory at Hollywood Gaming Dayton Raceway.

Wiggle It Jiggleit rallied off the cover of Always B Miki and defeated that foe in 1:49.1 track record mile by a head for driver Montrell Teague. Sentimental favourite Freaky Feet Pete finished third in his first start since the passing of his trainer Larry Rheinheimer.

Luck Be Withyou (Eric Goodell) blasted off the gate from post four to establish the lead ahead of inside starters Freaky Feet Pete (Trace Tetrick) and Always B Miki (David Miller) while Teague moved Wiggle It Jiggleit into the top four from post five. The 30-1 longshot leader carved out fractions of :26.2, :54.4 and 1:22.1 with even-money favourite Always B Miki tipping first over at the half and 6-5 Wiggle It Jiggleit tracking his cover. Always B Miki advanced up on even terms with Luck Be Withyou at the third quarter mark and then took over the lead turning for home. Wiggle It Jiggleit rallied to his outside at the top of the stretch and eventually persevered in the stretch duel that ensued, sprinting home in :26.3, with fellow Indiana-sired star Freaky Feet Pete finishing one and three-quarter lengths behind in third. Always At My Place (Chris Page) was fourth while All Bets Off (Matt Kakaley) and Shamballa (Scott Zeron) finished fifth in a dead-heat.

"I looked to the inside and I figured there were three that were never going to leave out of there. If I was up on the gate a little bit more, I probably would have left, but the trip worked out good," said Teague of his racing strategy. "And Miki, I thought he was going to move back to the front and leave me first over, but I got the trip that I wanted."

The victory was the 14th in 22 starts this year for Wiggle It Jiggleit, who is trained by Clyde Francis and owned by George Teague Jr. Inc. and the Teague Racing Partnership. The popular Mr Wiggles-Mozzi Hanover gelding has now won 37 races in his career and has amassed a bankroll of more than $3.8 million.

"It's unbelievable to me," said Teague of the four-year-old pacer's fan following. "You come track to track, and you see so many people coming out just to watch him. Walking down and everybody screaming his name and my name, it never gets old."

Wiggle It Jiggleit paid $4.40 to win.

One race earlier in Friday's co-feature event, Obrigado prevailed off a perfect pocket trip to add the $160,000 Dayton Trotting Derby to his resume.

Driver Mark MacDonald and Obrigado charged off the gate from post five, but gave way to outside leaver Homicide Hunter (Eric Goodell) during a :26.3 first quarter. Obrigado followed in the pocket through middle splits of :56.2 and 1:24.2 while Wind Of The North (Matt Kakaley) swept three-wide down the backstretch around stalled cover and confronted the race leader. As Wind Of The North battled Homicide Hunter into the stretch, MacDonald angled Obrigado to the far outside and charged right by down the lane to win in 1:53.2 by two and a quarter lengths. Centurion ATM (Aaron Merriman) came through for second-place while Wind Of The North edged out Crazy Wow (Chris Page) in a photo for show. Favourite Shake It Cerry (David Miller), the only mare in the field of nine, finished fifth.

Despite an extended four-hour ship from Lexington to Dayton due to traffic, Obrigado added the Dayton Derby to his list of 2016 accomplishments that include the Maxie Lee, Charlie Hill, Cleveland Classic and Crawford.

"It didn't effect him, but I think my blood pressure's a little high due to the trip," said trainer and co-owner Paul Kelley after the victory. "The traffic from Cincinnati was brutal and then again coming to Dayton, but we made it in the nick of time and the horse just never lets us down."

Obrigado didn't let his backers down either, paying $5.40 to win as the 5-2 second wagering favourite.

Kelley shares ownership of the six-year-old Boy Band-Malimony gelding with the Srf Stable, Linwood Higgins, and Stable 45. The victory was the trotter's 40th lifetime and pushed his bankroll over $1.36 million.

"He's a very, very sound horse and takes care of himself very well, and I don't see any reason why he won't come back next year and race at the same level," said Kelley.

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