Northfield: Daylon Magician upsets in Cleveland Trotting Classic

No matter how obvious a race looks on paper at Northfield Park, you can always expect the unexpected. Daylon Magician pulled off the upset in the inaugural $170,000 Cleveland Trotting Classic on Friday night with a late surge at the wire.

Count Me In refused to give way to the favored Obrigado through a 26 3/5 opening quarter over the half-mile oval. Obrigado may have actually made the front if not for multiple brief breaks through the first three-eighths of the mile.

Eventually Obrigado would settle in third as Count Me In rolled past the half in 54 3/5 leading DW’s NY Yank from the pocket. But that configuration was short lived as DW’s NY Yank pulled on the third turn to challenge and blow past the leader. He would meet immediate pressure from Obrigado and tracking both of them was Daylon Magician.

Obrigado appeared like he might have done the impossible and overcome a tough trip and some miscues, but driver Jack Moiseyev and Daylon Magician charged home in the final strides to get up by a short nose in an all-age track record-equaling 1:53 2/5.

DW’s NY Yank settled for third.

“Everything kind of went well,” said Moiseyev. “They were going pretty fast and we got to sit in a long way, which is the trip he likes.”

Daylon Magician returned $19.80 to win and scored for the sixth time in nine starts this year. The career earner of over $1.9 million is owned by Daylon Farms LTD and trained by driver Moiseyev.