Perched in the pocket behind his tempo-setting stablemate, Swan Flyer found a seam to the inside and powered through to a 1:53 victory in the $45,206 Open Trot at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel on Tuesday, May 7.
Leaving from post five, driver Brandon Bates managed to tuck Swan Flyer into the pocket behind even-money choice Oh Look Magic (Devon Tharps) as Sweet Mr Pinetucky (Marvin Luna) yielded in third through a :26.2 burner to the stands for the first time. Oh Look Magic then snatched a breather to a :55.2 half and accelerated for the backside with Pioneer As (Tony Hall) looming first over on the rim. Past three-quarters in 1:23.2, Oh Look Magic stayed strong through the turn but grew tired and drifted on the spin for home, opening a lane for Swan Flyer to fire through in the lane. Swan Flyer then surged past Pioneer As in the straightaway to snag the win by 1-1/4 lengths while Usosweet Blue Chip (Atlee Bender) closed for third and Oh Look Magic settled for fourth.
Swan Flyer has now won 16 races from 58 starts and earned $293,704. Ron Burke trains the five-year-old gelding by Swan For All for owners FAC Racing LLC, Joseph Di Scala Jr. and Yannick Gingras. He paid $17.40 to win.
Live harness racing resumes at Oak Grove on Monday, May 13 at 3 p.m. (CDT) and features the $100,000 USD finals of the Kentucky Sires Stakes for four-year-olds of each gait and sex. Free program pages for every race day, courtesy of TrackMaster, are available on the Oak Grove Racing website.
(Oak Grove Racing)