Dover: Captain Pete tops Thursday's DSBF winners

Captain Pete, who won the summer Delaware Standardbred Breeders' Fund championship at Harrington Raceway, lived up to his 1-10 billing and posted a 1:57 1/5 win in the second of three $20,000 first-round events in the DSBF December series for 3-year-old male pacers, held Thursday (Dec. 5) at Bally's Dover.

In line to Allan Davis, Captain Pete left hard from his outside post six to duel for the lead with 51-1 outsider Better Dig Two (driven by Corey Callahan) through a 28 2/5 first quarter while Shocking Truth (Pat Berry) kept the pocket closed. Captain Pete asserted himself and pushed clear of Better Dig Two with a lap to go, rated middle splits of 58 2/5 and 1:27 1/5, and evaded a mild outside challenge from Shocking Truth on the final turn to win driven out by 1 1/4 lengths. Beat Cop (Tim Tetrick) rallied belatedly down the center of the track to just miss Shocking Truth for second.

Jason Johnson trains Captain Pete, a nine-time winner from 15 starts with $119,382 in earnings, for Mulligan Stables, Calcutta Stable and Denise Davis. The Roddy's Bags Again-Capitana gelding paid $2.20 to win.

Lovenbury and driver Tim Tetrick set the first-round speed standard with a 1:56 2/5 win the third division. After bobbling at the start, the Badlands Hanover-Major Millie gelding settled in fourth before commencing a first-over grind as Rowdy Dragon (Pat Berry) rated a 58 4/5 half. Lovenbury made steady progress up the backstretch, engaged Rowdy Dragon in a duel for the lead on the far turn, took over in upper stretch, and edged clear to win by three-quarters of a length. LL Julio (Cody Poliseno) rallied up the open stretch to save second from the pocket over an all-out Rowdy Dragon.

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Trainer Crissy Crissman-Bier co-owns six-time winner Lovenbury, who paid $2.10 to win, with Vincent Ferriero Jr. and Robert Lovenbury.

The first division, conducted off the card as a non-wagering event, saw Midnite Mike and driver Tony Morgan ride the pocket behind Im Still Here (Montrell Teague) through splits of 29 4/5, 58 4/5 and 1:27 3/5 before emerging off the pegs an eighth of a mile from home and eclipsing him by a half-length to win in 1:57. Matt's Artist (Ross Wolfenden) finished third, another 7 1/2 lengths behind.

Vince Copeland trains four-time winner Midnite Mike, a Roddy's Bags Again-Casino Bus gelding who competes as a homebred for Cavalli Pazzi Stables.

The second preliminary round of the Bally's Dover DSBF series for 3-year-olds commences Monday (Dec. 9) with a trio of $20,000 divisions for trotting fillies: one to be contested off the card at 4:10 p.m. (EST) and the other two as part of a 15-race program due to begin at 4:30 p.m.

--press release (DSBF)--