Harrah's Hoosier Park: Amigo Volo, Capricornus score in Breeders Crown 3YO Colt Trot elims

Amigo Volo scored as the favorite in a track record time of 1:51 2/5 and Capricornus, dismissed at 61-1, posted his initial victory of 2020 in the pair of $25,000 Breeders Crown 3-Year-Old Colt Trot eliminations on Saturday night at Harrah's Hoosier Park.

Driven by Dexter Dunn in the second flight, Amigo Volo trotted past Beads (Brian Sears) to take over command beyond the 27 1/5 opening quarter. After making front, Amigo Volo had things his own way through a 56 1/5 half and a 1:24 4/5 three-quarters, then stormed home in 26 3/5 to win by three-parts of a length. Beads was a good second, followed by a first-over Maesteraemon (Tim Tetrick). Back Of The Neck (Ake Svanstedt) advanced from seventh to fourth in the last quarter, and Hillexotic (Trond Smedshammer) was the fifth-place finisher.

"He didn't get a whole lot of luck in the Hambletonian, but he's gone on since then and hasn't put a bad race in. He's a pleasure to sit behind," said Dunn. "He can make his own luck. He gets out of the gate good and you can put him in position. He felt brilliant tonight. He came off that last turn, and he put his head down and really sprinted hard."

A gelding by Father Patrick, Amigo Volo is trained by Nifty Norman for owners Pinske Stables and David J. Miller. Amigo Volo, who won the Breeders Crown final for this division a year ago, is now a 13-time winner from 25 appearances, and he has earned $1,218,869. He paid $3.20 to win.

Back in the first elimination, Capricornus and Tetrick watched from near the back of the pack as Play Trix On Me (Joe Bongiorno) and EL Ideal (Andy Miller) led through stations of 26 2/5, 56 1/5, and 1:24 3/5. In the lane several horses were in contention, but Capricornus, a Marcus Melander trainee, motored home in 26 1/5 to go from seventh at three-quarters to first at the wire, defeating Chestnut Hill (David Miller) by a neck in 1:52 2/5. Gangster Hanover (Andrew McCarthy) collected third, Ready For Moni (Yannick Gingras), who took the lead from first-up in the lane before being caught, had to settle for fourth, and Play Trix On Me came through in the passing lane for fifth.

"This horse, I kind of liked him from last year, and he's just really disappointed me all year," stated Tetrick. "Today, I got away sixth or seventh on the rail and never even pulled him until the top of the lane. He gave me a good sprint, and we got up in time to win. I thought he'd be a contender in every race, and he's just not fulfilled his job that he's supposed to do. Tonight was what I thought he could do all year, and he showed he's still got talent.

"Like Marcus and I were talking before, if he raced as good as he felt like warming up and everything he'll win. He said 'we can't trust him,' but tonight he actually did perform well."

JJ Racing Stable Inc. owns Capricornus, a Cantab Hall colt. Capricornus now sports a record of 4-5-5 from 22 trips behind the gate, and he has pocketed $260,099. He returned $125.00 to win.