Foiled Again amasses $2M in career earnings

Foiled Again amasses $2M in career earnings
from Harrah's Chester publicity department

The 2010 season of top pacer Foiled Again has seen him take his second George Morton Levy title at Yonkers and victory in the Quillen Memorial at Harrington. It also saw him finish in the runner-up spot to stablemate Won the West in the Breeders Crown. Sunday (November 21) afternoon's $32,000 Open Handicap Pace at Harrah's Chester not only saw Foiled Again take his 44th career victory, but he reached yet another milestone in doing so--he reached the $2,000,000 mark in career earnings with his 1:50.2 triumph.

The six-year-old Dragon Again gelding came into today's race off back-to-back wins, taking an Invitational event at Woodbine in a seasonal best 1:48.3 and an Open Handicap at Yonkers in pillar-to-post fashion from the always tough #8 starting position. Once again, he was assigned the outside, but it was no hindrance.

Sent off the 1-5 favourite, Foiled Again was in little hurry on the first turn, allowing Vlos (Tom Jackson) and Presidential Order (George Napolitano, Jr.) to dictate the early pace. The two dueled to a :27 first quarter before Yannick Gingras made his move with Foiled Again. Facing no resistance from Vlos, Foiled Again caught a massive second quarter breather, reaching the half in :56.1 before picking up the pace a bit to three-quarters in 1:24. On the far turn, Smellthecolornine (Tim Tetrick) posed a mild threat to the leader, but flattened outside the eighth pole, just before Vlos took one last shot at a minor upset. Despite a ferocious stretch kick from Vlos, Foiled Again once again rose to the occasion, prevailing by three-quarters of a length in 1:50.2, sprinting home in :26.2. Vlos would have to settle for second, while Warning Zone (Eric Goodell) circled wide to finish third.

Ron Burke trains Foiled Again for the Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi, and the JJK Stables.

Tim Tetrick led all drivers on the afternoon's program with five wins.

Bongiorno takes Billings Regional Final

Seventeen-year-old Joe Bongiorno not only has proven himself a force to reckon with in the American Harness Drivers Club fall pacing series at Freehold Raceway, but he's also asserted himself in the CKG Billings Amateur Driving Championship, taking the East Regional Final at Harrah's Chester aboard Winterleebrook.

Drawing post 7 in a bulky 10-horse field, Bongiorno floated the Chris Scicluna-owned and trained Winterleebrook near the fore, racing two-wide on the first turn before lucking into a pocket trip. "I saw that if I didn't leave the gate, I wouldn't have a shot to get in the race," commented the young but articulate Bongiorno. "When Mymomsablizzard broke stride, I had to grab up a bit, but I was able to get into the two-hole."

From a pocket trip, he stalked the pace-setting Domi Racer (Simeon Hunsdon) and the pace-prompting Sorce of Victory (Tony Verruso) through a half of 1:00.2. "I figured it would be tough near the half for Tony to clear, and I felt I'd have room up the inside. Once Tony's horse died out a bit, the trip worked out well." Sorce of Victory started to tire on the backstretch, and Bongiorno had plenty of room to angle wide with Winterleebrook at the top of the stretch. "When I tipped my horse to the outside, he went into another gear," Bongiorno concluded. "He just kept on rolling from there." He rolled to a two-length win over the ground-saving Civil Cause (Jamie Marra), completing the mile-and-a-quarter journey in a track record 2:30.4.