Number 18 for Tweedle Dum

The outside nine post didn’t matter. A sloppy racetrack didn’t matter. Nothing seems to matter to Tweedle Dum anymore--except winning! The grand 6 year old won Wednesday night at Pompano Park for the 18th time this year—tops in North America for any trotter. To add a bit more glory, all of Tweedle Dum’s wins have been at Pompano and that tied the record for most wins in a season here over the five-eighths mile oval. Lady Netty N also won 18 times in 1999.

As usual, Walter Ross Jr. was in the bike for trainer Gordon Norris and owners Diane Norris and Alfred Brotter and, as usual, Tweedle Dum used the same tactics he has used in virtually all of his victories: taking the lead as quickly as “equinely” possible and defying any of his combatants to catch him.

On this night, once again, they couldn’t.

Clocking fractions of :28, :58.2 and 1:27.4, Tweedle Dum trotted his last quarter in :29.2 over the "sloppy" going to reach the wire a length and a quarter the best of Battleshoe Victor (Stephan Lareau) in 1:57.1. Talk About Me (Anthony Napolitano) was third, followed by Railee Possible (Veral Bowman). Terminator Hall (Brett Miller) earned the minor award.

For Tweedle Dum, the win pushed his lifetime bounty to $194,405—of which $98,005 has come this year, barely 15 months after career threatening injuries and subsequent surgery to repair multiple bone breaks.

Also of interest is the fact that, in Tweedle Dum’s last 20 starts—17 wins and three seconds—of the 100 charted points of call during these races, 95 have been “1’s.”

In the $6,800 co-featured trot, Ecuries Dupont and Dupont Horse Racing’s Trotting Intruder, driven by Donald Dupont for trainer Marie Dupont, scored a 13-1 upset victory in 1:58.2 over a track labeled sloppy.

The 6-year-old son of Yankee Glide bided his time in third as Source of Luck (Daryl Bier) and Damon Runyon (Brett Miller) raced one-two through panels of :27.4, :58.3 and 1:27.3.

Turning for home, Damon Runyon came out of the pocket and rolled by Source of Luck, but “Damon” was unable to contain the surging Trotting Intruder, who stormed by inside the sixteenth pole and drew off in the late stages to score by 2¼ lengths.

The favorite, JP Sage, looking for her eighth consecutive victory, was well back early and rallied to finish third for Stephan Lareau. Make It Hot (Tom Sells) was fourth while Source of Luck salvaged the final check.

The victory was the fourth of the year in 30 starts for Trotting Intruder and sent his lifetime bounty over $140,000—$33,929 of that this year. (Pompano Park)

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