Highalator bounced back from equipment failure in his first 2021 appearance at the mountain oval to put up a game 1:51 victory in the $15,700 fast-class feature on the Kentucky Derby Day Saturday afternoon (May 1) card.
Regular pilot Rick Still guided the son of Somebeachsomewhere past Mykindachip to the :27.1 quarter, then got a breather to the half in :56.2. Bill Haley N made a big move at the leader up the backstretch with Rodeo Rock in tow, but Highalator was able to keep his first-over foe at bay by the 1:23.1 three-quarters and then withstand the oncoming Rodeo Rock by a length.
Highalator has now won 40 times in 90 trips behind the gate, with Pocono being a large contributor to that high win ratio, where he has won 16 times in 26 career starts. Trainer Jenny Bier co-owns the winner of $644,844 with Joann Dombeck and Midsize Construction.
It was a chalky beginning to the 2021 MGM Borgata Series for free-for-all pacers on Monday night at Yonkers Raceway as favourites delivered in four of the five $40,000 divisions.
Let It Ride N (Dexter Dunn) began the proceedings, prevailing off a second-over trip at 1-9 to run his record in the United States to seven wins from seven starts. Dunn brought Let It Ride N to the outside from fourth after the 56.4 half, and then picked up cover when This Is The Plan (Yannick Gingras) tipped out of the pocket beyond the 1:24.1 three-quarters. Dunn sent Let It Ride N three-wide on the far turn, and he kicked home strongly to win by half a length in 1:52.2. This Is The Plan was the runner-up, and Rodeo Rock (Tim Tetrick) closed from sixth to third in the last quarter.
If future wagering were offered today on the Borgata Pacing Series Final, which will be held Monday, April 19, 2021 after five preliminary legs, the two favourites would undoubtably be Let It Ride and This Is The Plan.
After 40 of the 47 eligible pacers were entered into the Borgata Series first leg and split into five divisions, those two favourites found themselves in the same split–the first one of the series–which begins tonight (March 15) in race three.
Let It Ride N won two Group 1 stakes in Australia in 2018, but lost his form and settled into a winless rut in 2020. He shipped to America last fall to Nifty Norman’s stable and added Lasix, which Norman credited as a key change for the eight-year-old Rock N Roll Heaven gelding.
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