Burke sweeps Matron rookie paces

Fotowon Photos

Dover, DE — Following a narrow defeat in the Breeders Crown, Southwind Gendry ($2.60) bounced back with authority and posted a 1:50 win in Thursday’s (Nov. 5) $193,000 Matron Stakes for 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings at Dover Downs and capping a sweep of the Matrons for rookie pacers for trainer Ron Burke.

The son of Always B Miki and Gambler’s Passion was caught wide in midfield after leaving from the outside post seven, but bided his time while Bayfield Beach (Andy McCarthy) controlled fast early splits of :26.1 and :54.2. Up the backstretch, Southwind Gendry ascended first-over to force a :27.2 third quarter before taking the lead midway on the far turn.

After putting Bayfield Beach away, Southwind Gendry remained strong and edged clear to evade the second-over Southwind Petyr (Dexter Dunn) by 1-1/2 lengths. Bayfield Beach held third.

The 10-time winner increased his career earnings to $583,069 for the Burke Racing Stable, Phil Collura, Knox Services and J&T Silva-Purnel & Libby.

Burke also won the $170,000 Matron for 2-year-old pacing fillies with Continualou ($3.20), who brushed aggressively to claim control of the terms with a circuit to go and threw down a :54.4 back half to evade her foes in a dynamic 1:50.2 performance.

David Miller floated the daughter of Sweet Lou and Continual Velocity into fifth on the first turn, waiting while Paulas Bet Hanover (Gingras) and Darby Hanover (Andy Miller) dueled through a :26.4 first quarter before storming to the fore at the bell. Once in charge, the 3-5 choice was never in doubt. She widened her lead steadily and ultimately defeated stablemate Paulas Bet Hanover by 5-3/4 lengths. Darby Hanover finished third.

Continualou, who finished fourth in last week’s Breeders Crown at Harrah’s Hoosier Park, has now won four times in her career and has banked $262,605 for the Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi.

In other Matron action:

$167,200 2-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Trot

With the scratch of Magical Muscle Man reducing the field to four, Type A ($4.20) and Yannick Gingras had little trouble working to the lead from the outside post. They gained control over even-money favorite Incommunicado (Scott Zeron) through a :28.2 first quarter, travelled uncontested through a :58.3 middle half, and dug in late to withstand a late push from Incommunicado to win by a half length in 1:55. Ethan T Hanover (Tim Tetrick) finished third, another 1-1/2 lengths behind.

Trainer Nancy Takter co-owns Type A with Frank Canzone and Christina Takter. The son of Southwind Frank and Up Front Laura has won three of his eight career starts to date and has amassed $152,433.

$189,600 2-Year-Old Filly Trot

Illuminata ($47.20) earned the second win of her young career with a pillar-to-post, 1:54.4 upset over seven foes in the Matron for rookie trotting fillies. Trainer-driver Åke Svanstedt sent the daughter of Chapter Seven and Traviata to the lead from post four, and she used a :27.2 first quarter to seat Frankly My Dear (David Miller) in the pocket. From there, they traveled one-two through a :58.4 middle half before Illuminata used a :28.3 sprint home to keep Frankly My Dear 1-1/4 lengths at bay. Pub Crawl (Andy Miller), who was sent off the twos-on favorite, only mustered mild gains to take third after stalking the front flight throughout.

Tristan Sjöberg’s Knutsson Trotting Inc. and Jeff Gural’s Little E LLC own Illuminata, whose career bankroll increased to $127,415.

The Matron Stakes for 3-year-olds are scheduled for next Thursday (Nov. 12), also at Dover Downs.