Won The West guns to Quillen win

The richest card in Harrington Raceway’s 63-year history took place Monday as Strollin Stable, Bill Robinson and James Koehler’s Won the West ($11, David Miller) prevailed in the featured $322,000 Bobby Quillen Memorial. Nearly $1 million in total purses were distributed on the 15-race program.

 

Won the West, a 5-year-old Western Hanover gelding, was one of three entrants in the race for trainer Ron Burke. Won The West battled gamely first-over as pacesetter Foiled Again cruised through fractions of :27.3, :57.4 and 1:26 with Mister Big in the two hole. Miller and Won the West continued to grind on the outside and wore down the leader to win by a head over Foiled Again. Mister Big finished third.

 

“Coming into the race I thought we were racing for second,” said Miller. “You know Foiled Again has got the rail and I figured he’d dictate the pace and have his own. My horse is a grinder and he can take the air. I knew when I kept up with him in the last turn I figured I had a pretty good chance of catching him.”

 

For Won the West, it was his 25th career win as his lifetime earnings ballooned to more than $2 million. Meanwhile, third-place finisher Mister Big, became just the second pacer in harness racing history to surpass $4 million with his third-place finish. (Harrington)