Freehold: Wickedly Innocent breaks maiden in NJSS-SDF final

Jack Pelling won the biggest race of his driving career so far on Saturday (October 23), guiding Wickedly Innocent to a 6-1 upset win in the New Jersey Sire Stakes-Standardbred Development Fund final for 2-year-old filly pacers at Freehold Raceway.

Counterparty Risk, the winner of the first two legs of the series, got all the action at the windows. She went off as the 1-2 favorite, while Winx was the 3-1 second choice. Those two raced in first and second throughout the early stages of the race, while Wickedly Innocent rated in fourth.

As they moved up the backstretch towards the three-quarter mile point, Pelling moved Wickedly Innocent after the lead, and with a bold rush, the filly took the lead around the final turn. She drew off to win by 8 1/2 lengths in 1:55, with a final quarter of 27 4/5 seconds.

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The win was Wickedly Innocent's first from six starts. She finished fifth and third, respectively, in the first two legs of the series. She's owned by Hot Lead Farm LLC. and trained by Jack's dad, Brett Pelling.

Sale El Sol got up for second, while Counterparty Risk finished third.

--press release (Freehold)--