With a victory by a nose in a $14,000 conditioned claiming pace aboard Dragon Grad on Tuesday (Jan. 9) at Miami Valley Raceway, driver Kayne Kauffman made his 4,000th trip to the winner's circle.
Kauffman and the Ty Van Rhoden student landed in sixth from post seven through an opening panel In :27.4 before pulling to the outside. The pair chipped away at the leaders from the outside through the half in :58.1 and three-quarters in 1:27.4. Down the lane, Dragon Grad met the match of Perfect High (Brett Miller) and they pulled away in a two-horse duel to the wire. In a photo finish, Dragon Grad won by a nose in 1:59 over Perfect High. Little Bit Bad (Trace Tetrick) rallied from the back of the pack to take the show spot.
Ty Van Rhoden co-owns the four-year-old Fear The Dragon-Betterthangraduate gelding with Scott Rooks. Dragon Grad won his ninth race from 50 career starts, moving his lifetime bankroll to $95,477. As the 8-1 upset victor, Dragon Grad returned $17 to win.
Kauffman, a resident of Lebanon, Ohio, has driven his mounts to more than $33 million in career earnings to go along with his 4,000-win plateau. His career-best campaign took place in 2017 with 318 victories.
(Standardbred Canada)