Mystic Art and Ashlee's Big Guy scored major upsets
this past weekend as
the "Road to the Little Brown Jug" continues its twisting path to
Delaware,
Ohio. Mystic Art won the $275,000 American-National in 1:49.3 as
North
America Cup winner Red River Hanover made a nasty break just before the
three-quarters which eliminated him from contention. Ashlee's Big Guy
captured the $332,784 Art Rooney Memorial at Yonkers by 1 1/2 lengths in
1:53.4 over Monsoon Hall, Image Of Dawn and Million Dollar Cam.
In other action involving three-year-old pacers,
Meadowlands Pace
champion Mach Three won a $35,000 3YO Open Pace in 1:50.2 at Woodbine
and
Third Straight set a World Record of 1:50.1 in the fastest of four
Pennsylvania Sires Stakes at Pocono Downs.
In other news, Trainer Chris Ryder said that his
three-year-old McArdle,
who is not eligible to the Jug, will supplement into the Cane Pace
eliminations at Freehold Raceway on August 24. Should McArdle win the
Cane
Pace Final on September 2, Ryder said he would also be supplemented into
the
Little Brown Jug on September 19 at Delaware, Ohio.
Arlene and Jules Siegel's Mystic Art took advantage
of the inside
starting position as he shot to the front and led all the way in winning
the
A-N over Illinois-bred Fox Valley Chris and Life Is A Cabaret. Trained
by Jim
Campbell and driven by Dave Magee, the Artsplace gelding won for the
second
time in nine starts this season.
Ashlee's Big Guy, a son of Life Sign owned by Jim
Wheeler and Philip and
Dana Steinberg, made up 2 3/4 lengths at the head of the stretch to win
for
the second time in 2002. He is trained by Tom Artandi.
Third Straight, a son of Western Hanover trained by
Murry Small and
driven by Michael Vanderkemp, equaled the world record of 1:50.1 for a
3-year-old pacing colt on a five-eighths mile track. He defeated
Cheyenne Rei
and Shuffle's Western. Jug eligible colts also won two other PASS
divisions.
Yankee Sensation beat Up Front Western and Slade Hanover in 1:50.3 and
Western Resolve defeated Jo Pa's Bench Mark and Keystone Rocketeer in
1:53.3.
The Oliver Wendell Holmes on August 3 at The
Meadowlands is the next
scheduled stop on the Road to the Jug.
