DOVER, Del. — Shartin N stepped up to the $25,000 Mares Open/Handicap on Wednesday, Feb. 7 for a 1:52.3 triumph ending long win streaks for two harness racing rivals over a sloppy track at Dover Downs. .
The five-year-old daughter of Tintin In America-Bagdarin won for the fourth straight time, including her last race Down Under, ending Divas Image and Terror At Night’s three wins-in-a-row. With Tim Tetrick at the controls, Shartin N pealed three-wide around the final turn to take the lead on the way to a 1:52.3 victory. Scandalicious (Jonathan Roberts) moved closer to $500,000 lifetime earnings, finishing second with Divas Image (Tony Morgan) third. Enhance Your Mind was scratched.
Shartin N joins several others owned by Richard Pollucci and JoAnn Looney King as a top-class performer in the Jim King Stable.
On the undercard: Moments Of Joy , owned and trained by Bryan Truitt with Vic Kirby driving equaled her lifetime record of 1:54 besting Goin Again (Vince Copeland) at the wire for her second consecutive win and fourth in her last six to win the $15,000 Mares pace. The Lion Sleeps (Russell Foster) was third. Moments Of Joy is a four-year-old by Western Terror-Joy Luck Hall.
Montrell Teague guided Use Your Noodle to her fourth win in her last six races registering a 1:53 victory in a $13,000 distaff pace. Henry Faragalli III, Feeney, Johnson and Nanticoke Racing own the five-year-old Artzina-Lo Gophobia mare who held off a determined challenge by Duneside Chella (Kirby) by a half-length. Skateboard Chic (Russell Foster) was the show finisher.
Tetrick had a triple while Teague and Callahan made the winner’s circle twice.
MISSLE J, SOMETIMES SAID, SICILY HEAD DOVER $27,500 THURSDAY
Missle J, last week’s 1:50 winner of the $27,500 Preferred- Open/Handicap returns to meet emerging speedster Sometimes Said, a 1:49.3 winner of a sub-feature and Sicily, a 2017 standout, among the seven speedballs in this week’s feature on another standout 13-race card at Dover Downs on Thursday, Feb. 8.
John McGill and Brian Carsey’s Missle J, with Tim Tetrick turned in a wire-to-wire victory last week and faces Bobby Glassmeyer’s Sometimes Said, who stepped up after his sixth consecutive win, even faster, a week ago. There is plenty of opposition headed by Reggie Hazzard and Legacy Racing’s Sicily, who closed out last December with a font-pacing 1:48.4 performance, with Montrell Teague at the controls.
Cajon Lightning is another hard-hitter with regular driver Art Stafford Jr. back in the bike. Eric Ell trains for owners Ken Wood, Bill Dittmar, Steve Iaquinta and Minisik Farms. Rich Pollucci’s Baileys Rock N has won six times with Tim Tetrick in his last eight races with two close-up seconds during that spell, Mike Hall and Dave Hamm’s Super Imposed N drew the rail with Corey Callahan while the only newcomer Jennifer Bongiorno Stable’s Gratian Hanover reports from Yonkers but must start from post 7.
Three in the $18,000 4-Year-Old Open/Handicap seek to extend win streaks: George Teague Jr.’s fast Daiymir (Montrell Teague), with three in-a-row, JoAnn Loone-King’s Q’s Cruise (Tetrick) off a Meadowlands win and George&Tina Dennis’ Nothwest Yankee (Mike Cole), a 1:51.4 winner last week.
Nine start in the last race on the strong 19-race card going for a $19,000 purse in a highly competitive $25,000-$30,000-$35,000 Claiming Handicap: For the second straight week, Mike Casalino and trainer Dylan Davis’ Jet Airway (Callahan), a winner last Thursday, starts from the outside, post 8. Chief contenders are Arty Foster II and Wanda May Saulsbury’s sharp Whirl Monroe (Kirby), Mildred Ventriglio’s fast finishing Reggiano (Morgan), and Arty Foster’s Legion Of Boom (Russell Foster),
On a solid undercard are a $16,000, two $14,500 and three $13,000 paces.
Dover Downs offers a 50-cent Pick 5 wager, starting with the 2nd race through the 6th. A late daily double is carded for the 12th and 13th races.
Live racing each Monday through Thursday with post time at 4:30 p.m. A fine and varied selection of food is available to enjoy while watching the races at the acclaimed Winner's Circle Restaurant Buffet. Call 302-674-4600 for reservations.
Simulcasting of harness and thoroughbred races is featured daily from 12 Noon until 12 Midnight in the Race and Sports Book.
Marv Bachrad