Emoticon Legacy cruises to Breeders Crown elimination victory

Emoticon Legacy and harness racing driver Bob McClure prevailed as expected in the Breeders Crown Open Trot elimination.  The son of Walner, out of the Kadabra mare Emoticon Hanover, was the 1-9 favorite and did not disappoint his backers with another stellar performance, stopping the timer easily in 1:51.4.

Owned by Determination of Montreal, QC, Canada, Emoticon Legacy notched his fourth victory of the season in ten starts and upped his seasonal earnings to $319,916 and his career bankroll to $1,437,447.  Conditioned by Luc Blais, this home bred has 15 career triumphs, six seconds and one third in 27 trips postward.

“He’s a superstar,” McClure confirmed of his charge. “Last year he could bully his way around a lot more and this year he’s had to learn a few things.  With Super Chapter not being in here, I felt he had a really good shot to win.  His biggest asset is his lungs—he can carry his speed a long way and he can pull through a situation where he might not have the greatest trip and still give you a great effort.”

Longshots 24-1 Up Your Deo (Ake Svanstedt) and 17-1 Go Dog Go (Scott Zeron) slugged it out to the :28.1 first quarter but both yielded to Emoticon Legacy, who got away fourth, when he made his early move. As the field moved to the :56.4 half, French Wine (Jason Bartlett) was first up to the leader but was not able to progress and by the 1:24.2 three-quarter marker, Emoticon Legacy had a comfortable lead that was not to be surpassed.  Go Dog Go held on for second, while the hard trying 15-1 Antognoni S (Yannick Gingras) got up for third, with Up Your Deo holding on for fourth place honors.

McClure admitted he’d prefer Emoticon Legacy to have a mid-inside post for the final.

“On a five-eighths, I’d say the best post for him would be the three or four hole,” McClure stressed. “Having the rail or two-hole would definitely be a disadvantage.”

Emoticon Legacy’s best effort this season came when he won the $347,000 Charlie Hill Memorial Trot over this same oval on Sept. 12, setting a new track and world record of 1:50.2 for 4-year-old trotting stallions.

Draw for the Open Trot will be on Tuesday at the Pinnacle Golf Club.

 

Antognoni S

Emoticon Legacy

French Wine

Gimpanzee Dancer

Go Dog Go

Lexus Kody

On To Norway

Super Chapter

Up Your Deo

 

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

by Kimberly Rinker, for Breeders Crown