Flamboro: Done Well, Dorsoduro Hanover deliver for Burke in Confederation Cup eliminations

Trainer Ron Burke swept the pair of C$20,000 Confederation Cup eliminations for 4-year-old pacing males on Sunday night at a soggy and sloppy Flamboro Downs, with Done Well and Dorsoduro Hanover carrying the flag of the Burke Brigade to the winner's circle.

Done Well (Dexter Dunn) totally dominated in the first elimination, going right to the top from post two, leading through fractions of 26 4/5, 55 2/5, and 1:23 4/5, and completing the mile in 1:51 4/5 despite a -2 variant. The Downtown Bus (Doug McNair) finished second from the pocket, 4 1/4 lengths behind the winner, with Pretty Handsome (Jonathan Drury) third. American History (Sylvain Filion) was the fourth-place finisher, and This Is The Plan (Matt Kakaley) got fifth.

Burke trains Done Well, a gelded son of Well Said, for owners Burke Racing Stable LLC., Weaver Bruscemi LLC., Jandt Silva Purnel & Libby, and Wingfield Brothers LLC. Done Well picked up his eighth career victory, and he has now earned C$489,529. He was the 2-5 favorite and paid $2.80 to win.

While the first elimination was pretty straightforward, the second was anything but. Lather Up (Montrell Teague) and Jimmy Freight (Louis-Philippe Roy) fired away from the outside posts seven and eight, with Lather Up hitting the opening quarter in 27 3/5 before cutting Jimmy Freight loose. 40-1 shot Ghost Dance (Randy Waples), who had been parked the whole way, then came up on the outside in the second quarter, and he was able to get around Jimmy Freight for the lead nearing the 55 4/5 half. Early on the third turn Lather Up appeared to make a break while sitting third, and that bothered some horses, including Dorsoduro Hanover (Kakaley) and 1-5 favorite Courtly Choice (David Miller). After they got by the confusion, they both came to the outside going to the 1:24 1/5 three-quarters, but Ghost Dance was still the leader at long odds.

Heading into the final turn Roy vacated the pocket with Jimmy Freight to take a shot against Ghost Dance, providing brief cover to Dorsoduro Hanover before Kakaley tipped him three-wide. Once he fanned out, Dorsoduro Hanover had the best kick through the lane, getting up to take the win by half a length in 1:53 4/5. Rockin Speed (Billy Davis Jr.) saved all the ground in the three-hole, inherited the pocket on the last turn, and rallied up the passing lane for second, and Ghost Dance held third. Jimmy Freight wound up fourth, and Courtly Choice closed belatedly on the far outside, but only enough to get fifth.

Dorsoduro Hanover, a Somebeachsomewhere gelding, is trained by Burke for owners Burke Racing Stable LLC., Jandt Silva Purnel & Libby, Weaver Bruscemi LLC., and Wingfield Brothers LLC. Dorsoduro Hanover made his 12th appearance in the winner's circle, and he pushed his bankroll to C$1,370,306. He was the 4-1 third choice and returned $10.90 to win.

After the two eliminations, a draw took place between This Is The Plan and Courtly Choice to see which fifth-place finisher from the two races would advance to next Sunday night's final, and This Is The Plan won the shake, leaving Courtly Choice as the also-eligible. The post position draw for the final will take place on Wednesday.