Freshman colt trotters set for Cardinal final

State-bred trotting colts were back in the spotlight on Tuesday night as 15 diagonally gaited 2 year olds battled in a pair of $7,500 Cardinal Stakes eliminations at Balmoral Park. The top five finishers in each division will be back next week to slug it out for $56,000.

In the first elimination Fox Valley Standardbreds and Jim Edgar’s rising star Fox Valley Odyssey continued to roll, posting his fourth straight victory for driver Jason Dillander.

Positioned perfectly by Dillander, Fox Valley Odyssey sat right on the back of the pace setting Maxter (Dave Magee) as that gelding rattled off splits of :29.2, :58.2 and 1:29. After finally pulling from the pocket with a sixteenth of a mile to trot ,Fox Valley Odyssey looked his main rival right in the eye, then cruised on by, winning by a widening length in 1:57.3. Maxter was a clear cut second choice while Rtprimetime (Nelson Willis) was third. Also gaining spots in the final were Justice Wyoming (Brent Holland) and Uneek Fireball (Dale Hiteman).

In the nightcap Judith Lunsford and Lynne Lindsey’s Valley Speed turned in one of the most impressive performances of the season in this division as he destroyed six rivals by a whopping 17 3/4 lengths in 1:57.

Sent right to the front by driver Brent Holland, this son of Valley Victor trotted through fractions of :29, :58 and 1:27.4 while opening up a 10-length lead as the field turned for home. Without a rival in sight, the Henry Lunsford trainee colt continued to increase his margin as he glided under the wire with his third win in 13 starts this season. Fox Valley Thor (Ryan Anderson) finished a distant second while Tropicana Ron (Brent Holland) was third. Roll On Tropicana (Ray Gash) and Mystical Patches (Brandon Simpson) also gained spots in next weeks final.

« Back