Dover: Amigo Volo smashes world record in Matron blowout

In a dazzling performance, Amigo Volo lowered the world record for a 3-year-old gelding on a five-eighths-mile track to 1:50 2/5 in winning Thursday evening's $162,350 Matron Stakes at Dover Downs. That mile also tied the overall world record for a sophomore trotter on a five-eighths-mile oval.

Driven by Dexter Dunn for trainer Nifty Norman, Amigo Volo stepped out quickly from post three and established control of the race before the 26 3/5 opening quarter. Behind him, Coventry Hall (Andrew McCarthy) secured the pocket from post five, but Play Trix On Me (Joe Bongiorno), who showed some early speed from post seven, was not as fortunate and wound up parked out.

Amigo Volo continued to show the way to the half in 54 4/5 with Play Trix On Me stalled out in a joint second on the outside, but then Play Trix On Me began to fade past that point, and that sent Back Of The Neck (Ake Svanstedt) three-wide from second-over to get around him. Back Of The Neck advanced into second at the 1:23 three-quarters and then dropped into the pocket on the final bend, but in the meantime, Amigo Volo had gotten separation on the field. He continued to pour it on from there, widening all the way to the wire. He was 6 1/2 lengths ahead of Back Of The Neck at the finish line, with Coventry Hall, Jula Trix Treasure (Yannick Gingras), and EL Ideal, all Svanstedt trainees, rounding out the top five.

The previous world record for a 3-year-old gelding trotter was 1:51 3/5 set by Pinkman on July 4, 2015 at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. The time of 1:50 2/5 also matched his sire Father Patrick (6/28/14 at Pocono) and Mission Brief (11/12/2015 at Dover) for top honors for any sophomore trotter on a five-eighths-mile track.

Pinske Stables and David J. Miller own Amigo Volo. Amigo Volo now has a record of 15-3-2 from 27 appearances, and he has now earned $1,550,044. The 3-5 favorite, he paid $3.20 to win.