If I Can Dream, Well Said win Jug elims

If I Can Dream, sent three wide down the backstretch by driver Tim Tetrick, rallied with a flourish to win the first of two eliminations of the 64th Little Brown Jug Thursday afternoon at the Delaware, Ohio, fairgrounds, while Well Said overcame post eight to win the second elim in impressive fashion.

 

Raced through a steady rain, If I Can Dream edged Perfect Shooting and driver Dave Palone at the wire in 1:52.

 

Mr. Wiggles, who sat the two hole being the leading River Shark throughout, came up the inside in the stretch for Corey Callahan to finish third, but the stewards ruled he was inside the pylons and gained an unfair advantage, and placed him back to fourth. That elevated River Shark and driver Luc Ouellette into third. The top four finishers return for the second heat, joined by the top four finishers in the second elim.

 

"He went a really big trip," said Tetrick in the winner's circle. "My horse was three wide the whole last three-eighths of the mile and they usually don't do that. He is just on his game today."

 

Owned by Bulletproof Enterprises and trained by Tracy Brainard, If I Can Dream is a son of Western Hanover.

 

Ron Pierce gave a masterful steer behind Well Said to win the second Jug elim in 1:51.1. Overcoming post eight, Well Said was an open-lengths winner over Vintage Master and Daniel Dube, with Sheer Desire and Palone third and Carnivore and Jody Jamieson fourth.

 

"This colt is so good the eight hole didn't matter," said Pierce. "I think he's head and shoulders above them. I hope I'm not wrong, and the final will tell, but I don't see getting beat unless we have some really bad luck."

Owned by Jeff Snyder and Susan Grange's Lothlorien, Well Said is a son of Western Hanover. The winner of the Meadowlands Pace and North America Cup earlier this year, the Jug elim win was Well Said's ninth of the year in 11 starts, increasing his career earnings to more than $2.25 million.