First Rate star of the show in Harness Day of Champions

First Rate set a new world and track record for the second straight year to win the 3-year-old colt and gelding pace Virginia Breeders' final, and highlight the Virginia Harness Day of Champions on Saturday at Colonial Downs.

First Rate’s 1:49 clocking in the $43,600 final easily bested Speakeasy’s 1:50.1, that had set the standard for 3-year-old gelding pacers. First Rate paced a mile in 1:50.2 to win the 2-year-old Virginia Breeders final and set the 2-year-old gelding standard last season at Colonial.

Pot Luck Stable’s First Rate raced in second Saturday, intently tracking Boss Outlaw’s blistering early pace in the final. Boss Outlaw paced the opening quarter in :25.3 and got the half in :53.3 with First Rate racing in the pocket.

Driver Tim Curtin sent First Rate after the leader nearing the end of the turn, getting to within a quarter length of the front-stepper after three-quarters, in 1:22.1.

Boss Outlaw had plenty left for the 1,300-foot stretch, but First Rate was just too good, pacing a :26.4 final quarter to draw off to win by 2 ½ lengths over Boss Outlaw.

Blueridge Finance closed well to get third, another 2 ¾ lengths back.

The win was First Rate’s 10th from 29 lifetime starts. The Real Artist gelding pushed his lifetime bankroll past $165,000 for trainer Sam Beegle.

Jane P. Dunavant’s Koala Kat didn’t break any records Saturday, but she was arguable just as impressive as First Rate with her 2 ¼-length score in the $46,600 3-year-old filly pace final.

Koala Kat rated patiently in third for driver Chris Page as the second choice, Pretty May Flowers opened up a four length lead on the turn. Page tipped Koala Kat out at the top of the lane and the CR Commando filly inhaled the leaders with a powerful stretch rally to stop the clock in 1:53.1.

Pretty May Flowers held well for second, 9 ¾ lengths clear of third-place finisher Dreamanda. Dreamanda was disqualified and placed fourth behind Little Star Becca for a lapped-on break at the wire.

Koala Kat picked up her fifth lifetime victory and boosted her bankroll to $81,120 for trainer Roland C. Dunavant Jr.

Four Starz Horndog lived up to her 1-2 odds with a gate-to-wire score in the $48,500 3-year-old filly pace final. Four Starz Horndog paced the mile in 1:52, beat Minnesota Mary by a length, with Southern another 3 ½ lengths back, in third.

The win was Four Starz Horndog’s eighth lifetime score in just 13 starts, all this season for trainer Erick Schulman. The Four Starzzz Shark filly also pushed her bankroll past the $100,000 mark for owner Four Starzzzz Stable.

William M. Camp Jr.’s Electric Chicken led throughout a mile in 1:53.4 to annex the $47,000 3-year-old colt and gelding trot.

Electric Chicken set solid fractions of :27.2, :56 and 1:24.1 for driver Frank Milby, en route to a 1 ½-length win over Seven Bends. Big Star Chuck tracked Electric Chicken throughout the first three-quarters and held well for third.

Electric Chicken picked up his fifth win from 25 lifetime starts. John Sumner trains the SJ’s Caviar gelding.

Rick’s Crossroads helped driver David Ingraham to his second Virginia Breeders Final win with a half-length score in the $45,400 2-year-old colt and gelding pace.

Ingraham sent Rick’s Crossroads to the lead nearing the end of the backstretch, and the Dream Away colt never looked back through a mile in 1:52.1. Tap Five finished second, 2 ¼ lengths ahead of Slim Justice.

Rick’s Crossroads picked up his first lifetime win for trainer Kelly Case and owner Richie Pat Bonvie Stable.

Marita E. Berglund’s Jamas was the heaviest favorite of the day at 1-5 in the $39,300 2-year-old colt and gelding trot, and the Dream Vacation colt justified every cent of it with a 5 ¼-length win.

Jamas led gate to wire for trainer-driver Chris Freck to win in 2:00.1. The Doctor raced in second all the way around the track to finish seven lengths clear of the third-place finisher, Maurview Two.

Endenridge Farms’ Babycakes Eden dominated the $40,000 2-year-old filly trot with a 3 ¾-length win, in 2:00.1. Luring Nola edged Eden’s Knotty Girl for second.

Babycakes Eden got her second straight victory for trainer-driver Thomas Smith. The Tabliabue filly also set a new lifetime mark on Saturday.

Blueridge Twilight turned the tables on prep winner Tidewater Misty with a three-quarter-length win in the $43,800 two-year-old filly pace.

Tidewater Misty beat Blueridge Twilight by 2 ½ lengths in the prep, but Blueridge Twilight powered past her rival in midstretch Saturday to win in 1:55.2. Southern Ella closed to get third.

Blueridge Twilight got her first lifetime win in the final. Jim Shelton trains the Jenna’s Beach Boy filly for owner-breeder B.L. Conway. (Colonial Downs)

« Back