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LEXINGTON, Ky.— Bugaboo Lou became a thorn in the side of 1-9 favorite Confederate through a fast clip. And despite the hot fractions and the persistent pressure Confederate (Sweet Lou) pummeled his peers to post a 1:48.2 victory in the second of two harness racing divisions for the $236,000 Tattersalls Pace at The Red Mile on Sunday (Oct. 8).
Starting from post 9, Confederate floated forward looking for seats unavailable, which forced Tim Tetrick to move for the lead after a :26.4 quarter. Bugaboo Lou led the field up the backstretch and refused to yield control to Confederate until Confederate overpowered him past a :53.3.
To the far turn, Bugaboo Lou could not settle and bullheadedly slung outside to reengage with Confederate, who – with the keen yet weary challenger to the outside – snagged a breather to three-quarters in 1:21.3. Through the wide journey in the breeze and the constant pressure, Confederate still shot away to dominate his rivals by two lengths at the line.
For Once Inmy Life, a 113-1 shot, snagged second from pocket-sitter Hungry Angel Boy in third with Ants Marching taking fourth. And the rematch waiting to be, was not, since It’s My Show, placed second over to the final turn, levelled off in the stretch and finished seventh.
CONFEDERATE REPLAY
“[Bugaboo Lou] was just really grabby,” Tim Tetrick said. “We went a big half there, [:]53, for today especially. The track really hasn’t been playing to the front until the last couple, but good horses overcome the struggles and the problems they come up with. And this horse just keeps proving it every day. My horse still felt really strong. I touched him once and he just came out of his skin. I freaking love him. He’s one of my favorite horses in the world.”
Confederate has now won 15 times from 18 tries and accrued $1,676,129 for owner-breeder Diamond Creek Racing. The victory also came after Confederate suffered a slight laceration on his knee, which required some stapling earlier in the week.
“We didn’t have a great week,” trainer Brett Pelling said. “We had a little hiccup earlier in the week, and God bless him he proved it to me. I raced him today because he’s a great horse and great horses come through, and that’s what he did. I’m very proud of him.”Confederate paid $2.32 to win.
Diamond Creek took the other Tattersalls Pace division with Cannibal (Sweet Lou), who pounced but then clung to victory in 1:50.
Driver Yannick Gingras settled Cannibal into fourth as Admiral Hill led the field to a :27.1 first quarter with Seven Colors ready to roll from the pocket. Seven Colors took over command up the backside and clicked by a :55.2 half with challenges awaiting to the far turn.
Ken Hanover, the slight 8-5 favorite, edged first over from third and supplied cover to Cannibal moving to three-quarters in 1:23.1. Seven Colors folded from the challenge as the field clumped into the lane with Ken Hanover grabbing a short lead. And then Cannibal kicked off cover to seize control in the closing strides, in which he nearly got usurped by El Rey firing through a seam to the inside. Cannibal kept fast-closing El Rey at bay by a neck while Combustion split through traffic to take third and Ken Hanover settled for fourth.
CANNIBAL REPLAY
“He’s just a beautiful horse – that’s what makes him the horse he is, he’s so handy,” Yannick Gingras said. “I’ve left with him 10 weeks in a row and today I figured the strategy would be a little bit different. He’s just so easy going but his handiness is what’s making him the horse he is. This guy, don’t count him out – he loves following speed and he’ll give you a run in the stretch. I’m not saying he can go with Confederate, I don’t know if many horses can, but this horse is a very nice horse, too.”
Cannibal collected his 14th win from 22 starts and has now earned $632,978 for owner-breeder Diamond Creek Racing. Nancy Takter trains the colt who paid $5.44 to win.
Each division for the $472,000 Tattersalls Pace was sponsored by Cameo Hills Farm.
For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.
by Ray Cotolo, for The Red Mile
