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Won the West captures the Bobby Quillen, DSBF finals contested on monster Monday program

10/26/2009 8:14 PM -

The richest card in Harrington Raceway’s 63-year history took place Monday as Strollin Stable, Bill Robinson and James Koehler’s Won the West ($11, David Miller) prevailed in the featured $322,000 Bobby Quillen Memorial.

 Nearly $1 million in total purses were distributed on the 15-race program.

 Won the West, a 5-year-old Western Hanover gelding, was one of three entrants in the race for trainer Ron Burke. ‘West’ battled gamely first-over as pacesetter Foiled Again cruised through fractions of 27.3, 57.4 and 1:26 with Mister Big in the two-hole. Miller and Won the West continued to grind on the outside and wore down the leader to win by a head over Foiled Again. Mister Big finished third.

 “Coming into the race I thought we were racing for second,” said Miller. “You know Foiled Again has got the rail and I figured he’d dictate the pace and have his own. My horse is a grinder and he can take the air. I knew when I kept up with him in the last turn I figured I had a pretty good chance of catching him.”

 For Won the West, it was his 25th career win as his lifetime earnings ballooned to more than $2 million. Meanwhile, third place finisher Mister Big, became just the second pacer in harness racing history to surpass $4 million with his third-place finish.

 Meanwhile four $100,000 Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund (DSBF) events were contested on the undercard, showcasing Delaware’s top 2-year-old pacers and trotters.

 The filly pacers were the first to get underway as Henry Faragalli and Henry Faragalli Jr., Joe Thomson and Del Cote’s Winbak Patty ($34.80, David Miller) took her final in 1:56.4. The Del Cote-trainee was first-over before she cleared the leaders and drew clear by two lengths.

 On the colt side, Badlands Racing, George Teague, Elmer Fannin and Howard Dorfman’s Delmarvalous ($2.40, Corey Callahan) was also a first-over winner as he wore down pacesetter Golden Gladiator in  deep stretch for the win in 1:54.1. The Badlands Hanover colt surpassed $100,000 in seasonal earnings with the win for trainer Teague.

 As for the colt trotters, Michael Gannon’s Par Done My Putt ($14.20, Wendell Donaway) was a wire-to-wire winner in 2:03.1 for trainer Laura Gannon. The Par One colt overcame post eight for a decisive victory.

 Meanwhile the filly trotting final went faster than the boys as John Wagner and Lloyd Arnold’s Emily Do ($7, John Wagner) prevailed over Chocolate N Roses in 2:02.3. Wagner also trained the CR Commando filly who earned her fifth win in seven career starts.