Breeders Crown: Emoticon Legacy delivers in Open Trot elimination

Emoticon Legacy and driver Bob McClure prevailed as expected in the Breeders Crown Open Trot elimination on Saturday night at Eldorado Scioto Downs. The son of Walner, out of the Kadabra mare Emoticon Hanover, was the 1-9 favorite and did not disappoint his backers with another stellar performance, stopping the timer easily in 1:51 4/5.

Owned by Determination of Montreal, QC, Canada, Emoticon Legacy notched his fourth victory of the season in ten starts and upped his seasonal earnings to $319,916 and his career bankroll to $1,437,447. Conditioned by Luc Blais, this homebred has 15 career triumphs, six seconds and one third in 27 trips postward.

"He's a superstar," McClure confirmed of his charge. "Last year he could bully his way around a lot more, and this year he's had to learn a few things. With Super Chapter not being in here, I felt he had a really good shot to win. His biggest asset are his lungs - he can carry his speed a long way, and he can pull through a situation where he might not have the greatest trip and still give you a great effort."

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Longshots 24-1 Up Your Deo (Ake Svanstedt) and 17-1 Go Dog Go (Scott Zeron) slugged it out to the 28 1/5 first quarter but both yielded to Emoticon Legacy, who got away fourth, when he made his early move. As the field moved to the 56 4/5 half, French Wine (Jason Bartlett) was first-up to the leader but was not able to progress, and by the 1:24 2/5 three-quarter marker, Emoticon Legacy had a comfortable lead that was not to be surpassed. Go Dog Go held on for second, while the hard-trying 15-1 Antognoni S (Yannick Gingras) got up for third, with Up Your Deo holding on for fourth-place honors.

McClure admitted he'd prefer Emoticon Legacy to have a mid-inside post for the final.

"On a five-eighths, I'd say the best post for him would be the three- or four-hole," McClure stressed. "Having the rail or two-hole would definitely be a disadvantage."

Emoticon Legacy's best effort this season came when he won the $250,000 Charlie Hill Memorial Trot over this same oval on Sept. 12, setting a new track and world record of 1:50 2/5 for 4-year-old trotting stallions.

The post position draw for the Open Trot will be on Tuesday at the Pinnacle Golf Club, and Emoticon Legacy will draw for a post between one and six by virtue of his elimination triumph. The full field in alphabetical order, including bye-takers On To Norway and Super Chapter, is as follows:

Antognoni S
Emoticon Legacy
French Wine
Gimpanzee Dancer
Go Dog Go
Lexus Kody
On To Norway
Super Chapter
Up Your Deo