Bobcat wins Sweeps

World record holder Primetime Bobcat beat the best pacers in North America at Rockingham Park Saturday night with a 1:51.3 win in the $120,000 New Hampshire Sweepstakes.

The 9-year-old Canadian-based son of Abercrombie, sent off as the 3-2 second choice in the field of eight, went right to the front and controlled the race to win by one length over a track rendered sloppy by the weekend's heavy rains. Whosurboy, the upset winner of the 2004 NH Sweeps who set the Rockingham track record here one week ago, was a fast-closing second despite a troubled trip. All Over The Place was third, while 6-5 favorite Hop Sing could do no better than fourth.

Jody Jamieson is Primetime Bobcat's regular diver and has been partnered with him throughout his four-race winning streak and world record. But his private flight from Toronto was cancelled due to the inclement weather and locally-based Jonathan Roberts got the lucky call after the first race.

"Driving him was like driving a Maserati," said Roberts, caked with mud in the winner's circle. "I ususally don't like driving in the rain, but it sure worked out today."

Anthony Morgan, the leading driver in number of wins in North America, can't say the same concerning favored Hop Sing.

"He went a good trip," he said. "But he didn't fire the way he usually does. He loves an off-track, but today just wasn't his day I guess.

Primetime Bobcat, who upped his career earnings to $439,925 with the $72,000 winner's share of the purse, is trained by Anthony Montini and owned by Montini, Basil Michele, and Bill Rogers of Toronto. His owners had a nightmare of a time getting to Salem in the storm, but had nothing to complain about after accepting the trophy.

"It was worth all of the aggravation in the end," said Michele. "This is unbelievable, and he's a unbelievable horse to own. His world record mile hasn't even sunk in yet. When we claimed him for $100,000 on February 18th, we took a lot of criticism for paying that much for a 9 year old. But nobody's laughing now. He seems to have no end. He's versatile and can win any way he wants to. He can come off the pace, race in the middle, or win on the front. Aside from the fast times, he's putting away some pretty serious animals."

Michael MacDonald, the driver of Whosurboy, will have no argument with the class of Primetime Bobcat despite losing by only a length.

"That's a great horse that beat him," he said. "He's the best in Canada, the best at Woodbine and the Meadowlands, the biggest tracks in the world. Primetime Bobcat is an unbelievable horse but this little guy is a good horse, too."

The owners of Primetime Bobcat are considering racing him next in a $500,000 pace at Woodbine on June 17th, despite the $85,000 supplemental fee they will have to part with.

"He's earned his shot to get in," said Michele. "He raced great today."

(Rockingham release)

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