Tioga Downs played host to the third leg of the Kindergarten Classic Series for two-year-old pacers and trotters on Friday (September 13). All races were for a purse of $10,000.
Captain Barbosa (Andrew McCarthy) cruised to victory in the Kindergarten race for pacing colts & geldings. Keystone Dash (Wally Hennessey) led to the first quarter in :27. Play The Ponies (David Miller) took control before hitting the half in :57.2. Captain Barbosa made his move on the backstretch and led to three-quarters in 1:24.1.
Captain Barbosa led by four lengths as they made the turn for home. He easily won in 1:52.2. Blank Stare (Jim Taggert Jr.) finished second with Ideal Perception (Matt Kakaley) getting third money.
Captain Barbosa is a two-year-old colt by Captaintreacherous-Swinging Beauty, trained by Tony Alagna for owners Robert Leblanc, David Anderson, and Alagnafrankinthegym Stable. It was his first career victory.
All Rise (Fern Paquet Jr.) was victorious in the Kindergarten series for trotting colts & geldings. Coventry Hall (Wally Hennessey) put up all the early fractions (:28.3, :59 1:27.3). All Rise took over as they made the turn for home, holding off the late charge of second-place finisher Oversized (Matt Kakaley) to win in 1:57.3. Coventry Hall held on for third.
All Rise is a two-year-old colt by Conway Hall-Berdine Hanover, trained by Homer Hochstetler for owners Connie Hochstetler, Robert Buddig and Allen Schwartz. It was his second career win in eight starts.
Ontario-sired Winter Olympics (Wally Hennessy) was much the best in the Kindergarten series race for trotting fillies. Winter Olympics flew out of the gate and led to the first quarter in :28.2. She used a :30.2 second quarter to lead to the half in :58.4. She they hit three-quarters in 1:27.2, and got slight pressure from second-place finisher Allswell Hanover (Matt Kakaley) as they went around the final turn. Winter Olympics had plenty left in the tank as they reached the stretch, winning in a lifetime best of 1:56.2. Ready To Rock (David Miller) finished third.
Winter Olympics is a two-year-old filly Muscle Mass-Olympic Dreams, owned and trained by Ake Svanstedt. It was her second win in four lifetime starts.
Anthem (David Miller) came flying late to win the Kindergarten race for pacing fillies. JK Finendandy (Matt Kakaley) put up all the early numbers (:27.4, :57.2, 1:25.2) with Love For Sail (Andrew McCarthy) taking control as they reached the stretch. Anthem went flying down the stretch to win in a lifetime best of 1:54.4. Love For Sail was second best.
Anthem is a two-year-old filly by Sweet Low-Monkeys Can Sing, owned by Cool Cat Racing and trained by Nifty Norman. It was her second career win in seven lifetime starts.
Truth And Liberty (Mike Simons) was a gate-to-wire winner in the $11,000 Fillies & Mares Open. Truth And Liberty ($8.10) got the lead just before hitting the first quarter in :26.2. She was still the best hitting the half in :56.3 and three-quarters in 1:24.2, then held off a late charge by second place finisher Gold Star Mysti to win in 1:53. Gigi From Fiji (Wally Hennessey) was third best.
Truth And Liberty is a seven-year-old mare by Total Truth, trained by Simons and owned by Fairy Horsemother Stables. It was her ninth win this season. She now has 44 career victories.
Wally Hennessey drove four winners on the night. He picked up wins with Move Over Sis ($3.10), Starcasim ($8.70), Prairie Easter ($2.90), and Crius N Rock ($11.00).
Tioga Downs returns to live racing on Saturday (September 14) with a 13-race card starting at 6:15 p.m.
(with files from Tioga)