Western Fair: The Wall pulls the upset in Camluck Classic

The C$157,000 Camluck Classic on Friday night at The Raceway at Western Fair District in London, Ontario, was wild and woolly in the first turn and again at the finish line, as 12-1 shot The Wall, driven by Joe Bongiorno, got around first turn confusion, then wore down heavy favorite Done Well from first-over to score in 1:52.

Racing back on a quick rotation after a game third-place effort on Sunday afternoon in the Commodore Barry Invitational at Harrah's Philadelphia, The Wall started from post three in the field, which was reduced to just six with the scratches of Sintra and Trump Nation. All the pre-race attention surrounded driver Brent Holland and him saying that he was going to send rail starter Ideal Jimmy right to the lead, but his plan went up in smoke when Done Well (Dexter Dunn), the odds-on favorite, beat him to the punch and the first turn from post two.

After Ideal Jimmy was looped, he got crooked in the first turn and then broke stride, bothering Southwind Amazon (Dave Palone) and knocking him off-stride while Rockin Ron (Louis-Philippe Roy), The Wall, and Rockin Speed (Billy Davis Jr.) got around that and lined up behind Done Well.

Done Well, coming off a win in the Confederation Cup at Flamboro Downs, got away with sensible opening-half fractions of 27 and then just 56 for the half, but The Wall came to the outside first-over past the half, and he gained quickly at Done Well, getting almost on even-terms with him as three-quarters flashed up on the board in 1:23 4/5.

Around the far turn Done Well managed to cling to the top spot, but The Wall had his measure in the lane, and then he dug in after finding the front, holding off a surging Rockin Speed, the longest shot on the board at 26-1, to win by half a length. Rockin Ron, last year's winner of the race, was third, Done Well had to settle for fourth, and Southwind Amazon came in fifth.

"I saw those boys getting a little tight in the first turn," said Bongiorno about the first turn incident. "I saw Ideal Jimmy got hard on the left line, and I saw him start to tip over. Brent was just trying to do what he said; he was trying to go down the road, and basically at that point he was looped. He gave him his shot and he went off-stride and took Dave out with him. Thankfully, I got around them. This horse has been opening people's eyes all year. People didn't think he really belonged for awhile, and he's proving now that he really does.

"This horse has been really good, and I knew he took a tougher trip than that when he was just at Harrah's Philadelphia. There's not enough words; (trainer) Nick (Surick) has done a fabulous job with this horse. The horse, he's finally proving himself."

Surick trains The Wall, a 5-year-old gelding by Somebeachsomewhere, for owner J L Benson Stables Inc. This was The Wall's 16th career victory, and he has now pocketed C$430,356 lifetime. He returned $27.90 to win.

"People think I'm crazy for racing horses back that quick, but that's my program, and sometimes it works," offered Surick. "As long as he bounced back off of last week's effort, I thought he'd be good tonight.

"Hopefully Dave Bianconi is listening, and I'll get that invite to Cleveland (for the Battle Of Lake Erie) on Saturday, and we'll ship from here to Cleveland and then back to the Gold Cup over at Mohawk in two weeks."