Oberto perseveres to Open upset

Northfield, OH — While the trip wasn’t easy, Oberto (Yankee Glide) overcame post-eight and pulled off an upset score in the $18,000 co-featured harness racing Open Trot at MGM Northfield Park on Monday (Nov. 20).

Driver Billy Davis Jr. tried to put Oberto into play early, leaving alertly from the outside, but he had several rivals gun from the gate to his inside. Unfortunately, Davis couldn’t find a hole and, up the backstretch, found himself three wide in the early stages with Up Helly AA (Aaron Merriman) cruising on the lead.

At the opening quarter in :27.4, the race saw its first lead change with Winning Shadow (Chris Lems) striking the front and clearing Up Helly AA into the far turn. Winning Shadow worked out a 29.3 second quarter breather, with Oberto, who tried to flush cover into the stretch, breathing down his neck.

Winning Shadow continued to put up the numbers on their approach to three-quarters, but as he eclipsed that fraction in 1:26.2, Oberto kept coming, now within a quarter length of the lead. The pair would duel to the top of the stretch, but Oberto found another gear through the stretch, drawing off to win by 2-1/4 lengths in 1:56. Up Helly AA dug in for second, and Winning Shadow finished third.

OBERTO REPLAY

Owned by Paul O’Neil and trained by Jessica Roegner, Oberto pushed his career earnings to $349,700.

Ron Burke trainee Night Shadow made things look easy in the $18,000 co-featured Open Pace as he stole the show in gate-to-wire fashion.

Both Dancin Dragon (Davis Jr.) and Makin Some Noise (Kurt Sugg) got the jump on Night Shadow (Shadow Play, Wrenn Jr.) into the opening turn, with Makin Some Noise clearing Dancin Dragon, leaving Night Shadow parked out. Wrenn wasted no time going after the lead, though, clearing at the quarter in 28.

Night Shadow was not challenged at all through the middle quarter, getting to the half in :56.4. That changed into the backstretch, as One Last Laugh (Hunter Myers) began to apply pressure with the Ideal Dancer A (Luke Ebersole) on his back second over.

At three-quarters in 1:24.3, Night Shadow put away both of those rivals but had to brace for Makin Some Noise, poised to strike from the pocket. Through the stretch, Night Shadow proved to be too good, winning by 1-3/4 lengths in 1:52.3. Makin Some Noise was second, with Dancin Dragon re-rallying to be third.

NIGHT SHADOW REPLAY

Owned by Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi, Night Shadow pushed his earnings to $103,658.

Live racing resumes on Tuesday (November 21) evening at 6:00 p.m. MGM Northfield Park currently races on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. For more information on live racing and promotions, visit www.northfieldpark.com.

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

by Michael Carter, for MGM Northfield Park