Tioga: Dee's Red Delicous ties track record in NYSS triumph

Dee's Red Delicous tied the Tioga Downs track record for a 2-year-old gelding trotter when he won the second of a pair of $53,100 New York Sire Stakes races on Sunday afternoon in 1:55 4/5. Ambassador Hanover, coming off a sire stakes victory at Yonkers, would improve to two-for-two in the other section.

With Corey Callahan calling the shots in the bike, Dee's Red Delicous got away third from post six while Incommunicado (Ake Svanstedt) shot through from the pole position to the point and rang up opening-half fractions of 27 3/5 and 57 2/5. Callahan would then send his horse first-over after the half and get nose-to-nose with Incommunicado at the 1:26 2/5 three-quarters.

Incommunicado and Dee's Red Delicous continued to match strides and duel around the far turn, but then Dee's Red Delicous had another gear in the lane that Incommunicado could not match, pulling away authoritatively to prevail by 4 1/4 lengths. Incommunicado held second with Special Prosecutor (Marcus Miller) third.

Bruce Saunders trains Dee's Red Delicous, a gelded son of Credit Winner, for owner Joseph Martinelli Sr. Dee's Red Delicous, who was third in the first leg of the sire stakes at Yonkers and then won an overnight race at Harrah's Philadelphia, now has two wins and a third from three attempts, and he pushed his earnings to $36,004. Dee's Red Delicous, who sold for $37,000 at last year's Standardbred Horse Sale, was bred by Sherri Meirs and Steve Organ and is out of the SJ's Caviar mare Apple Plush (1:55 3/5, $55,971), a full sister to Likeabatoutahell (1:51 3/5, $1,035,643). The 5-2 second choice, Dee's Red Delicous paid $7.40 to win.

While he came up second-best in that race, Svanstedt did capture the first division with Ambassador Hanover in 1:59. Ambassador Hanover was sent to the lead from post two and used a parked-out Creemore (Verlin Yoder) as a pick to set easy fractions of 28 4/5, 58 2/5, and 1:29 2/5 with Sevenshadesofgrey (Callahan) in the pocket. When Creemore faded in the lane, that gave Callahan room to come to the outside with his charge, and he began to catch Ambassador Hanover. He couldn't quite reach, though, as the wire came up in time for Ambassador Hanover to prevail by a neck in 1:59. Creditrina (Trond Smedshammer) collected third.

The victorious Chapter Seven colt is also trained and co-owned by Svanstedt in partnership with Order By Stable, Howard Taylor, and Judith Taylor. Ambassador Hanover, bred by Hanover Shoe Farms Inc., was a $100,000 acquisition at the Standardbred Horse Sale and has pocketed $44,625 from his two New York Sire Stakes triumphs. Ambassador Hanover's dam is the Cantab Hall mare Angel Eyes Hanover (1:57 1/5, $57,850), a half-sister to former Breeders Crown 2-Year-Old Filly Trot runner-up Angelette Hanover (Yankee Glide, 1:56 3/5, $317,892). Ambassador Hanover returned $4.00 to win as the even-money favorite.