This Sand's Hot, Lite Me Up Take Winners Over Features

This Sand's Hot ($5.40) defeated World Champion Blastaway Sahbra and Lucca's Revenge to take Saturday's $7,000 Winners Over Trot in 1:58.2 over a track rated good. Trainer-driver John Konesky III bided his time as last week's winner Lucca's revenge cut the fractions, moving to the outside as the field approached the three-quarter mile marker, wearing down the winner in the stretch drive. Blastaway Sahbra used the winner's cover to good advantage, going by Lucca's Revenge as well. Favored Cinderella's Champ made a break before the start and was neverf a factor, finishing 5th.  G.B. Reddin of Van Buren Ohio owns the winner, a five-year-old Sand Chaser gelding who posted his 25th career victory in his 63rd lifetime start.

Todd Jones and Michael Epler's Lite Me Up ($12.40) left no doubt in the $6,500 to pace. They flew to the top with a 27.1 opening panel, eventually posting a 1:55.4, seven-length win over Rella's Trick and Perfect Door. The win was the 3rd in 11 starts for the five-year-old Stand Forever horse.

NORTHFIELD PARK’S BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE TO BONO BESTS
Wins  $100,000 Pace in Driving Rain 

Keith Kash, Jr., steered 3-1 Bono Bests three-wide at the three-quarters, and the five-year-old son of Pro Bono Best drew off in the stretch to win by 3 lengths in 1:52.2 over a sloppy track caused by a downpour just prior to the race. Bono Bests is owned by Herbert Burns III and Stephen Demeter, both of New York. The win was his 6^th in his last 7 starts. Bono Bests has now won over $428,000 in his career.

The 1-5 favorite, Tigerama, took the early lead after a brief duel with Booze Cruzin and hit the quarter in a blistering 26 seconds. He got a breather to the half, which was reached in 55.2, and continued to lead at three-quarters in 1:23.4. But Bono Bests, who followed cover from Allamerican Inca rallied late to get the win over the favorite. Booze Cruzin finished third. Bono Bests paid $11.00.  Watch the race on YouTube!

For driver “Josh” Kash, who inherited the drive on Bono Bests when David Miller chose not to leave the Meadowlands for the Battle, the winning race drive may have been just his second best of the night. Kash, who started his career at Northfield, basically growing up on the backstretch, drove in the first five races at Buffalo Raceway in Hamburg, New York Saturday. After posting a win and two seconds in five starts, he began the journey down Interstate 90, covering the 183 miles to Northfield in a shade over 2¼ hours. His last Buffalo race, driving trotter Kami’s Call, went off at 7:45. Ironically, earlier on the Northfield Battle card, Kami’s Call’s stablemate, Imagianthit, won a Winners Over Trot for driver Mark MacDonald, who drove favored Tigerama in the Battle. The two trotters are both locally owned by The Inquisitive Stable. Kash trains both trotters. Here is the USTA's video and interview, posted on YouTube.