Artistic Fella squeaks out BC Open Pace triumph

Joseph Alborano's Artistic Fella put the finishing touches on a special day for trainer Steve Elliott as driving phenom Tim Tetrick drove the four-year-old son of Pacific Fella to a gate to wire winning effort in the Breeders Crown Pace in 1:49.2 in the final of the four Breeders Crown events at Mohawk Raceway.

The 2006 Meadowlands Pace champion, Artistic Fella dug in gamely in the final strides to hold off the late charging Mister Big to win by a nose. Longshot Zooka closed strongly to finish third.

"I knew it was tight," driver Tim Tetrick said after the race. "My horse was still fighting hard and I knew he had given it his all. The wins the past two weeks in the Open gave him his confidence back. You are never happy until to get to the wire. We ran our race and kept waiting for them to come. But it just worked out for us."

"Winning the Breeders Crown is a dream come true," Tetrick continued. "I always wanted to compete on this level. I am just going to ride this wave as long as it lasts; it has just been a sensational year."

Elliott was unable to attend the race as he had been in DuQuoin, IL earlier in the day as his Hambletonian champion trotter Donato Hanover won his 14th straight win with a victory in the World Trotting Derby.

"I have such a good team and good horses that's what you need to win these kind of races," Elliott said via telephone after the race. "He's always been a good horse but it is tough to jump from 3 to 4 though Mister Big has done it as well. It's a deep crop and he fits in well with them."

The win was the first for Tetrick in Breeders Crown competition. The 25-year-old, who leads North America in both dash wins and purse earnings, was making just his second Breeders Crown finals appearance.

To see a replay of the race click here.

(Breeders Crown)

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