Dedis Dragon Slays The ‘Captain’

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Three major stake events were contested Friday evening at Hoosier Park, and one major upset has the industry buzzing.

Dedis Dragon became just the second horse this season to find the chink in the armour of Captaintreacherous, and the heroic feat earned the Ron Burke trainee his biggest payday to date.

The race was the $252,000 Monument Circle, and the majority of the betting public felt Captaintreacherous was 1-9 the best. But a few longshot players reaped a pari-mutuel windfall for believing in Dedis Dragon, who erupted for a 43-1 upset.

Fool Me Once rocketed to the lead from Post 8 and had the field chasing him at the quarter pole in a :26-second clip. Captaintreacherous, who got away third, brushed to the front in the backstretch and cleared without a tussle before cruising through middle fractions of :55 and 1:23.1. Dedis Dragon was situated second-over around the final turn, and he dug down deep and eventually wore down Captaintreacherous in the closing strides en route to the 1:50.4 victory. Apprentice Hanover came on late to finish third.

“Ronnie [Burke] told me that the horse warmed up better than he ever has,” Gingras noted of his mount. “We were hoping for second in here tonight but he post paraded good and the trip worked out perfectly for us. I saw Tim’s horse [Captaintreacherous] was labouring but I didn’t think we could catch him, he’s a champion, but my horse raced unbelievable tonight.”

“This is obviously the biggest win of his career,” Burke noted in the winner’s circle. “Oddly enough, he seems to race his best races when he is racing this horse [Captaintreacherous]. He does his best work on a big track but we came here tonight hoping for second and he surprised us all. Captaintreacherous is a champion but Yannick just had this horse in the right place at the right time tonight.”

Dedis Dragon, a three-year-old son of Dragon Again-Dedis Dream, notched his fourth win of the season for the partnership of Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Phillip Collura and Tracy Hendler. The lion’s share of the purse bumped the six-time winner’s bankroll to $561,660.

Pet Rock turned in a gritty effort of his own to stave off a late-rushing Foiled Again to win the $223,500 Hoosier Park Pacing Derby in 1:50.3.

Golden Receiver rocketed to the top from Post 9 and had the field chasing him past the quarter pole in :25.2. Pet Rock rushed to the lead in the backstretch under the orders of driver David Miller, and together they whacked out the next two intervals of :53.4 and 1:22.2. Pet Rock came under heavy pressure in the lane from recent Breeders Crown champion Foiled Again, but he turned that foe back en route to notching the win. Foiled Again was second best, with Dynamic Youth taking home the third prize.

“His records speak for themselves,” Virgil Morgan noted after the victory. “He is a true champion, winning on all sizes of tracks speaks to his versatility and it means a lot for him to go out on top here tonight.”

Virgil Morgan, Jr. trains the four-year-old son of Rocknroll Hanover-Casual Beauty for owner Frank Bellino of Bronxville, New York, and together they’ve watched the hard-hitting pacer put together a 5-4-1 record from 15 trips to the track this season. The 15-time winner has managed to put away career earnings totaling $1,893,820.

Creatine went coast-to-coast for driver Mike Lachance in the $286,500 Carl Erskine, and in doing so he posted a mild upset over recent Breeders Crown winner Spider Blue Chip.

Lachance hustled Creatine to the lead, and the Bob Stewart trainee led the group through sensible fractions of :27.2, :57.3 and 1:26.2 before going into sprint mode. A :28.1 closing quarter was just enough for Creatine to hold off Spider Blue Chip in 1:54.3. Dewycolorintheline grabbed the show dough.

“We just ran out of racetrack in the Breeders Crown,” winning trainer Bob Stewart noted. “This horse has been racing tough all year and tonight, he showed how tough he is. I leave the driving up to Mike (Lachance), that is my strategy, and tonight it all worked out for us.”

Diamond Creek Racing of Wellsville, Pennsylvania owns the three-year-old son of Andover Hall-Berry Nice Muscles who won for the eighth time this season and for the 11th time in his career. His share of the Friday’s purse money increased his cash stash to $815,459.

(With quotes from Hoosier Park)

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