A pair of 1:51.3 miles topped the Thursday (Jan. 6) action at Miami Valley Raceway with GD Western Joe (Chris Page) elevated to winner of the $30,000 Open I Pace and Ubuntu (Dan Noble) demolishing a field of $30,000 claiming pacers.
along the inside of Blank Stare and Sectionline Bigry. (Conrad Photo)
Blank Stare actually reached the finish line first in the Open, but was found guilty of drifting into Sectionline Bigry, causing him to check slightly late in the stretch drive. When the lane along the pylons opened up it allowed GD Western Joe to close with a rush and finish second before ultimately being named the official winner by the judges.
It was the 34th career win for GD Western Joe, trained by Ron Burke, and raised the seven-year-old son of Real Desire’s bankroll to $727,030.
Ubuntu used gate-to-wire tactics to trounce his foes and earn his fourth straight victory in Ohio. Following a victory in a $12,500 claimer at Hollywood Dayton in early December, the five-year-old Pet Rock gelding has reeled off another pair of triumphs in $15,000 claiming events before double jumping in class to secure this latest success against $30,000 claiming competition for trainer Christi Pokornowski and Norman Rae Racing.
Racing will resume Sunday afternoon with the regular 4:05 p.m. post time. Miami Valley features racing on a Sunday through Thursday schedule in 2022.
(With files from Miami Valley Raceway)