The attending crowd felt Fingals Wave was the best and sent him off as the favourite in the $9,200 Great Lakes Amateur Drivers Association (GLADA) Trot Sunday night (Jan. 30) at Northfield Park and they weren't disappointed when Don Sherman guided the veteran trotter to a one-length victory in 1:58.2.
Despite being sent the betting favourite from post 3, Fingals Wave couldn't gain command after the starter turned the field loose because 20-1 shot Curleys Son (driven by Marion Chupp) darted to the lead in :29 seconds and refused to yield. That left Fultons Fury (Darrell Rideout) in the cat-birds seat.
With Curleys Son on the inside and Fingals Wave on the outside, the two trotters led their competition by the half in :59.
Still one-two as they straightened up the backside Fingals Wave was the strong horse and Curleys Son's strides shortened as Fultons Fury joined the fray. The leaders then battled side-by-side and were still heads apart as they reached the three-quarters in 1:28.3. But as they rounded the final turn and headed for home, Fingals Wave — despite racing on the limb all the way — began to pull away
In the deep stretch, it was all Fingals Wave as he crossed the wire first. Fultons Fury got up for second money while Curleys Son took home the show dough.
Fingals Wave is a six-year-old Kadabra gelding owned by Paul O'Neil and trained by Jessica Roegner.
It was the veteran trotter's second seasonal win to go along with a second and a third, in four starts this year.
He paid $3.80 for win.
(GLADA)