DAYTON, OH. – Sports Sinner captured the $11,500 Open Pace at Hollywood Dayton Raceway on Saturday (November 21), his third tally in the weekly feature in his last four tries.
Driver Dan Noble left alertly from the No. 1 post position, but yielded to notorious frontrunner Ice Scraper (Josh Sutton) before the first quarter beam was tripped in :26.4. Enjoying a pocket ride through middle splits reached in :54.4 and 1:23, Noble found a narrow opening at the three-quarter station and paced a final panel in :29.1 on a cold, windy night to complete the 1:52.1 triumph.
Longshot Red Scooter (Lewayne Miller) rallied in the stretch to finish third.
Sports Sinner is owned by Perkins Racing Stable and trained by Christi Pokornowski. The four-year-old Western Ideal gelding eclipsed the $50,000 seasonal earnings barrier with the victory and is rapidly approaching $100,000 in his career.
The win was one of three on the night for Noble as he also scored with Allthatgltrsisgold (1:53.3) and JJ Shooter (1:55). Penn, a newcomer to Hollywood Dayton, beat the Open Trotters in 1:56.2 with Josh Sutton on his lines.
The five-year-old Master Glide gelding's next check will push him over the $200,000 lifetime earnings plateau for owner Barkley Counts and trainer Bobby Brower. As the heavy favorite, Penn opened an eight length lead early in the stretch and coasted home ahead of a fast-closing Martz Time (Chris Page) and last week's winner Winwood Scout (Jeremy Smith). Sutton also fashioned a hat track with other wins behind Gear Box for trainer Derek Menchhofer and The Riddler for trainer Tom Harmer.
From the press box at Dayton Hollywood Raceway