Harrington: Top Flight Champion, Tuis Star head DSBF trot victors

The first leg of Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund (DSBF) action for 3-year-old trotters got underway Wednesday at Harrington Raceway with four $20,000 divisions to complete the first leg.

The first two divisions were for fillies, and Stacy Johnson and Wyatt Starkey’s Emerys Angel ($14.80, Art Stafford Jr.) used a wide stretch rally for a 2:01 1/5 triumph in the opening split over Wolfpack One and Crazy Amy. The Top Flight Angel filly registered her fourth career win for trainer and co-owner Stacy Johnson-Stafford.

In the second division, Don and David Wiest’s Tuis Star ($2.10, Corey Callahan) was an easy eight length front-end winner over Belle Natania and Bloomfield Babe in 1:58 1/5. Trained by David Wiest, it was the sixth career win for the EL Platinum filly, who made $98,120 as a 2-year-old.

Nanticoke Racing, Jim Magno and Joe Fonte’s Thiskissformaryell ($2.80, Jim Morand) was a 2:00 2/5 winner in the first male division, contiuning his dominance in DSBF action for trainer Les Givens. The Iron Mine Bucky gelding dictated the tempo on the engine, authoring all the fractions en route to an open length victory, the 11th of his career, over Money Manager and Cosmic Flash. Thiskissformaryell's namesake, Mary Ellen Black, was in attendance for the photo. Black, a huge fan of harness racing, is the mother of longtime Mid-Atlantic horse racing writer Ted Black.

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Perhaps the most-impressive winner of the night came in the final division as E&K Stable and Robert Nibblett Jr.'s Top Flight Champion ($2.10, Eddie Dennis) was a 19 length winner in 1:57 over Ovi and Sunny Blue Rock. Trained by his driver, the Top Flight Angel gelding recorded his seventh career win.

In the overnight feature, the $22,500 Open Trot, Breakaway Racing and Yorwollohan Racing’s Speed Away ($4.60, Corey Callahan) exploded with trot while fanning wide in the stretch to record his 29th career win over R No Mercy and Tom Creek in 1:55 3/5. The 8-year-old Father Patrick gelding surpassed $100,000 in seasonal earnings with his fifth victory of the year for trainer Nick Callahan.

Brandon Givens had four wins on the card. Callahan had a pair of winners, joining Russell Foster and Ross Wolfenden with a driving double.

Racing will continue on a Monday through Wednesday schedule through July 8 (post time 4:30 p.m. EDT). The second leg of DSBF action will headline the June 29-July 1 week of racing with the male pacers on Monday (June 29), filly pacers Tuesday (June 30) and trotters on Wednesday (July 1).

--press release (Harrington)--