Vintage Master gives Tetrick third Franklin triumph
from Harrah's Chester publicity department
In 2007, it was Boulder Creek by a neck. In 2008, it was Artistic Fella pulling away. This year's $500,000 Ben Franklin held Sunday (July 18) afternoon at Harrah's Chester Casino and Racetrack saw Tim Tetrick take his third renewal of the race, driving Brittany Farms and the Brian Monieson Revocable Trust's Vintage Master ($8.00) to an off-the-pace 1:49.0 victory.
Vintage Master had no part of a contested pace, which saw Three of Spades, Keep It Real, Foiled Again, Shark Gesture, and Dali all in the firing line early. With Keep It Real (George Napolitano) making the early lead and Three of Spades (Jonathan Roberts) closing the pocket immediately, small-track specialist Foiled Again (Yannick Gingras) was parked again through a :26.0 first quarter. Passing the judge on the first occasion, Foiled Again began to stall, prompting George Brennan to move 2-5 favourite Shark Gesture three-wide, and Vintage Master followed the three-wide flow past a :54.0 half mile.
On the backstretch, Keep It Real faced heavy pressure from Shark Gesture after parrying the challenge of Foiled Again, battling on the far turn past three-quarters in 1:21.0, with Vintage Master in prime second-over striking position. At head-stretch, Shark Gesture had put away Keep It Real, but Vintage Master wasted no time kicking three-wide, taking over 150 yards out and prevailing by a length in 1:49.0. Shark Gesture was a game second, just holding off the ground-saving Atochia. Keep It Real faded to fourth.
(photo credit World Wide Racing Photos)
