CLEARFIELD – Dave Brickell was all smiles as he accepted the Charles \”Buster\” DiSalvo Trophy in front of an approving Driving Park grandstand crowd at the close of the Clearfield County Fair Harness Racing Meet Thursday afternoon.
Finishing the four-day program with the most wins, seven, was a first for the veteran driver from Smicksburg.
At any track.
And the Pennsylvania fair circuit\’s leading driver and trainer for 2007 wrapped up the driving title in style, guiding two of his own pacers, DVC Elegant Beauty and SB Quents Knight, to victories in his only trips to the post on the nine-race Pennsylvania Sire Stakes card for 2-year-olds.
DVC Elegant Beauty, coming off a winning 1:57.4 mile in an Early Closer race at The Meadows Saturday, widened her lead in the juvenile filly division of the PASS point standings with her fifth victory in eight starts. The bay filly stopped the timer at 2:03.3 in the First Division of the W. G. Satterlee, Inc. Pace, the sixth race. She held off Favin Hanover, driven by Steve Schoeffel, the DiSalvo Trophy winner three of the previous five years. Favin Hanover, which had a win and two seconds in her only starts, is runner-up to DVC Elegant Beauty in PASS points.
In the eighth race, SB Quents Knight posted the clincher for Brickell by overtaking Here\’s Bubby (driver Bob Rougeaux) in the lane for a victory by a little less than a length in 2:04.4. The First Division of the Ronald P. Lizotte Pace had three leaders in the final quarter, with Chris Shaw\’s Sound Dragin ending up a close third. SB Quents Knight, a bay gelding with three wins in nine starts, trails Here\’s Bubby by two points in the PASS standings for 2-year-old pacing colts.
Winston Lineweaver, who drove four winners Monday and Tuesday, had tied Brickell with his fifth win of the meet in the first race, late-charging DNJ\’s Merry Dancer getting up to prevail by half a length in 2:09.4. Lineweaver angled the black filly three wide in the stretch to fly past It\’s About Me (Bryce Truitt) and Pine Hill Princess (Michele Albaugh-Young) for her maiden victory in the First Division of the Richard Fink Memorial Trot. A third had been her best finish in four fair races.
However, Lineweaver was unable to put more pressure on Brickell in the third race when Digital Photo was a non-factor, so DVC Elegant Beauty\’s win gave Brickell a 6-5 lead going to their head-to-head duel in the eighth race. Again, Lineweaver could do nothing but watch the rest of the field as Stillabigtherapy, coming back from a Quaker State victory Tuesday, fell far back in the first quarter and never challenged.
So, Brickell averted a coin toss for the DiSalvo Trophy.
The 59-year-old driver-trainer-owner, who didn\’t arrive at the Driving Park until Wednesday, had seven wins and one second in eight drives, quite a feat.
Rougeaux and Ed McNeight Jr. joined Brickell as double-winners for the day.
Rougeaux\’s RT Dandy Lion became the PASS points leader among 2-year-old colt trotters with his 2:10.2 mile in the First Division of the A.E. \”Gus\” Mellott Memorial Race. The bay gelding, placing in his seventh consecutive career start with his second win, survived a duel with R George (Norman Morford) and Tagador (Tony Schadel) through the stretch to prevail by a half-length.
RT Cool Art recorded his maiden win for Rougeaux in the last dash, the Second Division of the Ronald P. Lizotte Race. The bay colt, which had placed second or third in his five previous starts, breezed past Big Shot (Schoeffel) in the final turn for a 2:05 clocking and a 10-length victory.
McNeight guided KT Attitude to a four-length victory over RT Tessa (Rougeaux) in the Second Division of the Richard Fink Memorial Trot and into first place in the PASS points race for juvenile filly trotters. KT Attiude, a winner in 2:03.1 at The Meadows on July 24, increased her bankroll to $7,000 for seven races, four of them wins.
KT Me Me won the Second Division of the A.E. \”Gus\” Memorial Race by overtaking Pine Hill Querencia (Albaugh-Young) in the lane and pulling away by four lengths in 2:09.4. McNeight had kept the bay colt, owned by Kenneth Weaver of Home, in the pocket most of the way. KT Me Me\’s maiden win came in his fourth race.
Pacer Tea Room Artist, doubling his bankroll with his first win in seven starts, put driver Joe Offutt in the winner\’s circle with a 2:02.1 trip in the $2, 212 Second Division of the W.G. Satterlee & Sons, Inc. Race. Back To Nature (Randy Neal) appeared to be cruising to a victory until going off gait heading into the final turn and placed third behind Peak-And-Boom (Schoeffel).
The Third Division of the Richard Fink Memorial Trot was another dash interesting and exciting dash. RT Barbwire (Rougeaux) left the gate in first and still was on the lead going into the final turn. Bandstand Boogie (Schadel) was first at the top of the stretch. Then, Tuscarora Git-R-Dun got it done for driver-trainer-owner Brad Clouser of White Lake, N.Y. The chestnut filly hit the wire in 2:10.3, two lengths in front of Bandstand Boogie, for her maiden win after placing fifth at the Dayton and Gratz meets.
HOOFBEATS – Offutt, with four wins, finished third in the DiSalvo Trophy chase, followed by Rougeaux and Truitt with three apiece… Purses totaled $49,327 for the week… The program for each day\’s races was dedicated to Jerry Krisher, who passed away in August of 2006 after dedicating 40 years to Clearfield County Fair racing, 30 as track superintendent… Meadville is the only other Pennsylvania fair with four days of harness racing… Two drivers making headlines on the national scene this week were 92-year-old Leo Burns at the Edwards County Fair in Albion, Ill. and 13-year-old Jared Seekman at the Ottawa County Fair in Holland, Mich. Burns lowered the mark he already held as the oldest driver ever to win a harness race to 2:02.2 with his 3-year-old trotting filly Winsome Wyoming in a stakes race. Seekman, who will turn 14 this month, guided trotter Wallstreet Victory to a win in a race for amateur drivers, making him the youngest driver to finish first in a purse race, according to the U.S. Trotting Association… Another young driver making a name for herself is Cassidy Melloy, who finished sixth behind Defiant Girl in the race won by Burns. In her first year as a licensed driver, the 16-year-old from Albion has set a mark as the youngest driver of a 2:00 race winner and has been in the money in 13 of 20 races this year, five of them wins.
Thursday\’s results, with place, horse\’s name, post position in parenthesis and driver\’s name:
Richard Fink Memorial PASS 2-Year-Old Filly Trot
First Division – 1. DNJ\’s Merry Dancer (5), W. Lineweaver; 2. It\’s About Time (3), B. Truitt; 3. Pine Hill Princess (4), M. Albaugh-Young; 4. Lookingforarose (2), L. Lambert; 5. Marion Mania (1), R. Neal. Time: 2:09.4.
Second Division – 1. KT Attitude (4), E. McNeight Jr.; 2. RT Tessa (1), R. Rougeaux; 3. Caviar Kisses (2), R. Neal; 4. Mocha Freeze (3), Z. Kaiser. Time: 2:12.
Third Division – 1. Tuscarora Git-R-Dun (2), B. Clouser; 2. Bandstand Boogie (1), T. Schadel; 3. RT Barbwire (4), R. Rougeaux; 4. Digital Photo (3), W. Lineweaver. Time: 2:10.3.
A.E. \”Gus\” Mellott Memorial PASS 2-Year-Old Colt Trot
First Division – 1. RT Dandy Lion (4), R. Rougeaux; 2. R George (2), N. Morford; 3. Tagador (3), T. Shadel; 4. Alex R (1), B. Truitt. Time: 2:10.2.
Second Division – 1. KT Me Me (3), E. McNeight Jr.; 2. Pine Hill Querencia (2), M. Albaugh-Young; 3. RT Tri County (4), R. Rougeaux; 4. Viking Springs (1), C. Shaw. Time: 2:09.4.
W. G. Satterlee & Sons, Inc. PASS 2-Year-Old Filly Pace
First Division – 1. DVC Elegant Beauty (2), D. Brickell; 2. Favin Hanover (1), S. Schoeffel; 3. Matchless (4), R. Neal; 4. Blissfull Doll (3), J. Offutt; 5. My Hero Maggie (6), N. Morford; 6. Ruby Red Slippers (5), Z. Kaiser. Time: 2:03.3.
Second Division – 1. Tea Room Artist (2), J. Offutt; 2. Peak-And-Boom (5), S. Schoeffel; 3. Back To Nature (1), R. Neal; 4. Sweet Sobrina (3), B. Truitt; 5. Tropical Thunder (4), C. Flickinger. Time: 2:02.1.
Ronald P. Lizotte PASS 2-Year-Old Colt Pace
First Division – 1. SB Quents Knight (3), D. Brickell; 2. Here\’s Bubby (4), R. Rougeaux; 3. Sound Dragin (2), C. Shaw; 4. Stillabigtherapy (1), W. Lineweaver. Time: 2:04.4.
Second Division – 1. RT Cool Art (1), R. Rougeaux; 2. Big Shot (2), S. Schoeffel; 3. DVC Early Sunrise (3), C. Shaw. Time: 2:05.