Shake That House, at odds of 9-1, was able to shake up the house, collaring harness racing favorite Captain Crunch at the wire to win the $335,000 Hap Hansen Progress Pace Final Wednesday at Dover Downs.
The 12th race feature for three-year-old pacing colts saw American Mercury (Tyler Buter) out leave Captain Crunch to the the early lead and then sting Captain Crunch and driver Yannick Gingras a little as they went by the first quarter in :26.
Captain Crunch then sat comfortably on the lead past the half mile in :53.4 as Dancing Lou (Andy McCarthy) came first-over with Shake That House and driver Tim Tetrick were second-over and then by the three-quarters in 1:21, was first-over and gaining ground on Captain Crunch.
As they came down the stretch, Shake That House proved to be the strong horse, beating Captain Crunch to the wire by a long neck in 1:50.1. U S Captain (Dexter Dunn) was third.
A colt by American Ideal, Shake That House paid $20.20 to win. He is trained by Chris Oakes and is co-owned by Crawford Farms Racing, A J Johnston, and the Northfork Racing Stable. It was his seventh win on the season.
“When got away from the horses inside of me,” said driver Tim Tetrick. “that was my objective, not to get away last. My horse actually closed well last week with a :25.4 last quarter and I thought if there was enough speed early on, we could be right there.
“When I tipped him off the rail,” Tetrick explained. “and got some good cover he felt really good. Once I got around Andy (Dancin Lou) I knew my horse could track down Captain Crunch and he did.”
There were two $100,000 finals of the Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund for two-year-old pacers. The finals were named in memory of long time Dover publicist and Hall of Famer Marv Bachrad.
The sixth race final for the pacing fillies saw the 1/9 favorite, Cinder Rock and driver Allan Davis shoot right out to the lead and never looked back. They cut fractions of :27, :55.1 and 1:25.2.
In the backstretch, rival Bag Of Jewels (Victor Kirby) came first-over but lacked any true grit and faded after the three-quarters. Cinder Rock then pulled away in the stretch to win in a romp by ten and three-quarter lengths in 1:53.2. Sin Sumthin (Russell Foster) was second with Emma (Art Stafford, Jr.) third.
It was the sixth straight win for Cinder Rock. The daughter of Rockabillie is trained by Wayne Givens for the Legacy Racing Of De, Inc. of Seaford. She paid just $2.20 to win and now has won six of her seven lifetime starts.
“It was my plan all along to get to the front,” said Allan Davis. “I got there with her easy. It all worked out good today.
“Early in her career,” Davis said, “Wayne (Givens) told me he was so close to just turning her out. He decided to bring her to the track with another horse and once she got behind the gate she was all business.”
In the 10th race $100,000 colt final, it was Bebop On The Block, making three moves starting from post eight to get what seemed to end up being an easy victory in 1:54.2.
American Nitro (Victor Kirby) left from post seven and was stung a bit getting to the lead by Leonard’s Legacy (Corey Callahan) at the opening quarter mile in :26.
Past the half in :55.3, there was no movement until the backstretch when driver Dexter Dunn moved from fourth place with Bebop On The Block, coming after pacesetter American Nitro at the three-quarters in 1:24.2.
He collared the race leader and then with another gear, Dunn pulled away from the field in the stretch to win by two and three=quarter lengths. American Nitro held for second place with Undercovershamrock (Ross Wolfenden) third.
It was the fourth straight win for Bebop On The Block, a gelded son of Gamblers Dream. He is trained by Josh Green for owners Debbie and Brendan Cook of Hartly. He paid $5.20 to win.
“We had the eight-hole so I knew we had to get out a little for position,” said Dexter Dunn. “Once I moved him to the outside, he felt really good. He’s still immature but last four races he has been really good.”
“Very happy, what a great night,” said trainer Josh Green. “We came along slowly with him at first, preparing him for the Dover meet. Then we got Dexter to drive him and what a fabulous driver he is. We made a bit change tonight on him to try and get a little bit more leverage with him. It was Dexter who suggested it last week. It was a great idea. He was able to leave with him, get the four-hole, made three great moves and Dexter got him home.”
by Steve Wolf, for Harnesslink