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GOODTIMES ELIMS TO DUDED UP, FEDERAL FLEX, SOUTHERN ROCKETOP
CAMPBELLVILLE, ON, Saturday, June
20, 2009 � Undefeated Duded Up and Chris Christoforou were
the class of the first of three eliminations for the Goodtimes
Stakes, for sophomore trotters, tonight at Mohawk, while
Canada�s two-year-old trotting colt of 2008, Federal Flex,
proved untouchable in the second Goodtimes elim, and Southern
Rocketop scored in the third.
Hurrikanebiggeorge and Yannick Gingras were
fastest off the gate in the first contest (race #1) but 3-5
favourite I Wont Dance (Trevor Ritchie) soon moved up to
overtake, while Duded Up cruised comfortably in third. Just as
the field completed a :58.0 half, Duded Up found another gear
for Christoforou and cleared, with I Wont Dance accepting the
pocket spot. By the head of the stretch, Duded Up had opened up
by three and a quarter lengths, and crossed the wire
unchallenged. I Wont Dance, the 3-5 favourite, settled for
second while 30-1 shot, Neighsay Hanover (Trond Smedshammer) was
third.
The winning time of 1:55.0 was a career best for Duded Up,
who was unraced at two and is now undefeated in three lifetime
starts. The son of Windsongs Legacy is trained by Ira Fisher for
Ely Iverson of Moffat, Ontario, and paid $8.30, $3.60, and $3.20
for the win.
�I thought he was a bit overlooked, but that�s okay,�commented
Christoforou. �He raced well (and) the track�s in pretty good
shape for all the rain we got. If we don�t get any more it
should hold up well.
�He was doing it all on his own. I asked him once at the head of
the lane, just to get into gear, and after that I shut him down
about halfway down the lane. Hopefully he�s got a big future.�
Canada�s two-year-old trotting colt of 2008, Federal Flex,
making his first start as a sophomore, was untouchable in the
second Goodtimes elim, trotting home in 1:56.0 with part-owner
Jody Jamieson sitting chilly in the bike.
The 1-5 favourite rocketed to the front off the gate and went
wire-to-wire as he did in many of his two-year-old victories.
Truth In Action (Tim Tetrick) rode the pocket through the entire
mile but couldn�t get closer than a length behind Federal Flex �
and with no-one coming at him, Jamieson shut his colt down
through the middle half, hammering out fractions of :28.2,
:59.1, and 1:28.4. By the three-quarter pole Federal Flex had a
two-length advantage, and maintained that to cross the wire in
1:56.0, with Truth In Action second and Dave Palone urging And
Heez Perfect to the show spot.
Federal Flex, by Muscles Yankee out of the good race mare,
Scully FBI, hangs his harness bag in the barn of Jeff Gillis and
is owned by the Federal Flex Stable, Ken Henwood, Al Libfeld,
and Marvin Katz.
Jody Jamieson: �He was 1-5, he got all the respect in the race,
but he was a little nervous in the paddock Jeff said, with it
being his first start of the year. He really wanted to get out
of there, so I had to be a little careful with him just off the
gate. After that, I wouldn�t have moved on him if I�d had a
(different) horse in the race either, because I wasn�t going to
let anybody go.
�He was real strong -- :27.1 in the end (quarter). We had some
decent horses chasing us down there, but you get a cheap
three-quarters like that and a cheap middle half and you make
your own way after that.
�Every time I go to the gate with this horse, I get goosebumps.
It�s a pleasure to be a part-owner on him and a pleasure to sit
behind him every day.�
Asked about future meetings with the dominant three-year-old
trotter in the States, Breeders� Crown winner Muscle Hill,
Jamieson said, tongue-in-cheek, �What was the name of the horse
again? Oh, yeah, they say he�s a nice little horse, but I don�t
know if he wants any part of Federal Flex!�
Confirming that the Hambletonian is the future focus for his
colt, he added, �People are talking about him in the same
sentence of Muscle Hill and that�s just the icing on the cake.�
The third Goodtimes elim gave racing fans a taste of Tennessee,
as Southern Rocketop went wire-to-wire behind a troubled field
of seven trotters, to win in 1:55.1.
With Illusionsndreams and Aden Hanover off-stride behind the
gate, and Hibbler gapped off, only four horses enjoyed a clean
start in this division (tickets were later refunded on Aden
Hanover, who was ruled not to have had a fair start). Driver
Brian Carpenter sent Southern Rocketop, making his first
appearance on this side of the border, to the front right off
the gate, and there the pair stayed, with Randy Waples
struggling to keep an unruly Winning Mister on Carpenter�s
helmet through much of the mile.
As the field entered the stretch, Southern Rocketop had a
comfortable five-length lead. Waples, finally able to let
Winning Mister roll, was able to get within spitting distance of
the 2-5 favourite, but couldn�t catch him, settling for second
money, while Lukas Rossi was a surprise third for Jack Moiseyev
after a recovering Illusionsndreams self-destructed again in
deep stretch for Steve Condren.
�The colt raced real good tonight,� remarked driver Brian
Carpenter. �We campaigned him as a two-year-old solely in
Illinois and he was very good, so we decided to take him out
amongst everybody.
�He hadn�t raced in a little over two weeks. I brought him up
behind the truck and he�d never seen a big dog-house on there
like that before, so he gave it a pretty good look.�
Asked whether his colt was getting a bit tired deep in the
stretch, Carpenter said, �No, he wasn�t getting leg-weary. When
he heard the horse coming he kicked it back in � he was just
looking at everything.�
Southern Rocketop, a gelded son of Illinois sire, Pyschic
Spirit, is trained by Illinois native Robert Taylor, and had
previously raced only in that state, with Balmoral Park his home
base. There, he has racked up 11 wins in 16 starts, and extends
his winning streak in 2009 to three with this victory. The
Powers Farm LLC of Winchester, Tennessee, owns the gelding, who
was bred in Rhode Island.
The $280,000 final of the Goodtimes Stakes is scheduled for next
Saturday, June 27, on a card which also features the finals of
the Elegantimage, the Fan Hanover, and of course the $1.5
million Pepsi North America Cup
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