Delaware, OH — Blazin Britches won the $54,650 first elimination of the Jugette for harness racing 3-year-old female pacers in 1:52.1 on Wednesday (Sept. 20) at the Delaware County Fairgrounds.
Obvious Blue Chip finished second, followed by Terrortina and Rockin Serena to advance to the final later this afternoon.
Sent off at odds of 1-9, Blazin Britches and driver Trace Tetrick went to the lead on the first turn and never looked back, winning by 2-1/4 lengths. The filly, who has won 10 of 11 races this year, is trained by Brian Brown and owned by breeder Emerald Highlands Farm.
Blazin Britches set fractions of :28.1, :57 and 1:24.4. Obvious Blue Chip tried to challenge heading around the final turn, but was unable to get within striking distance.
“I wanted to be on the move to the front by the backside to try to control the race,” Tetrick said. “I had plenty of mare left; it was just trying to get her to pay attention. She kind of got to daydreaming there a little bit.
“She loves her job. When it was time to race she wanted to go forward.
"She was a little headstrong earlier on and Brian went ahead and changed bits on her. Since then she has been perfect. She really loves her work."
Caviart Ally romped to victory in the second $54,650 Jugette elimination, winning by open lengths in 1:52 for driver Andy McCarthy and trainer Noel Daley. Caviart Ally, the 8-5 favorite, led every step of the way. She pulled away from her rivals on the backstretch and was unthreatened from there.
Tequila Monday finished second, followed by Idyllic Beach and Ella Christina to reach the final.
Caviart Ally, a daughter of Bettor's Delight-Allamerican Cool owned by Caviart Farms, has won five of 14 races this year. She set fractions of :27.1, :56.3, and 1:23.4 on her way to victory.
“She’s very handy off the gate,” McCarthy said. “You just have to chirp to her a little bit and she will get out of there as much as you want to. That definitely helped. She actually got a little bumpy on me coming out of the third turn. I think we were going too slow; she just wanted to get going. I had to let her pace out a little bit to get her smoothed out and she was good.
"Over the last few months she has become much stronger," added McCarthy. "I used to always race from off the pace for that reason but I don't have to anymore. They did add Lasix as well, so that may have helped, but she is coming into her own."
The post-position order for the $163,950 final is: 1. Blazin Britches, 2. Caviart Ally, 3. Obvious Blue Chip, 4. Tequila Monday, 5. Terrortina, 6. Idyllic Beach, 7. Ella Christina, 8. Rockin Serena.
— Kim French contributed to this report
by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications