Expected and unexpected in Adios Pace elims

Washington, PA, July 20, 2024–Captain Albano (Captaintreacherous-Angelou) did what was expected while Wish You Well (Bettor’s Wish-Where’s Alice) pulled off the completely unexpected Saturday at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows, as each harness racing horse won an elimination division of the $400,000 Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids.

They’ll be joined in the $350,000 Adios final on July 27 by Huntingforchrome, Sweet Beach Life, Clever Cody, Timeisonmyside, Noblesville and Nuclear as well as Outer Banks, who reached the final as the fifth-place finisher with higher career earnings. It was a successful Adios start for trainers Travis Alexander and Ron Burke; each had three starters, and each saw two of those starters make it through.

Connections of Captain Albano and Wish You Well will select their post positions, with a shake determining their choosing order. All other post positions will be determined by a random draw Wednesday.

Last year’s Dan Patch Award-winning freshman male pacer, Captain Albano was sent off the 1-5 favorite and looked the part very much. He quarter-poled to the top for Todd McCarthy and widened his advantage from there, scoring by 3-1/4 lengths in 1:49.2. Timeisonmyside and Noblesville completed the ticket.

“I figured if I could get away and stay out of trouble, he’d be all right,” McCarthy said. “You have to be careful with them. He’s gotta come back next week, so you don’t want to spend too much fuel. We’ll draw close to the inside for the final; that definitely will be an advantage.”

Captain Albano boosted his lifetime bankroll to $577,915 for trainer Noel Daley and owners Patricia Stable, L A Express Stable,Sjoblom Racing and Michael Dolan.

CAPTAIN ALBANO REPLAY

It appeared that the ending would be vastly different for Wish You Well. The gelding, dismissed at 25-1, trailed by 6 lengths at the top of the lane, with no immediate racing room. But when David Miller angled him off the cones, he exploded past the leader, Huntingforchrome, and defeated him by 1-3/4 lengths in 1:49.1, with Sweet Beach Life third.

“He had a big kick to him there, didn’t he?” Miller said. “I was just trying to get him into the final. And, jeez, when I got him out and got his plugs out, he kicked into a gear I wasn’t expecting. That was pretty cool.”

WISH YOU WELL REPLAY

On Adios Day, the final of the Pace for the Orchids anchors a blockbuster program that features six Grand Circuit stakes. In addition, the card will offer a total of $200,000 in pool guarantees spread over 11 wagers, thought to be the “Richest Day in PA’ for bettors.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

by Evan Pattak, for the MSOA