Blakemore and Simon Allard used a late move to score the win in the $15,000 Claiming event Sunday, July 2 at Harrah’s Philadelphia. The duo scored the win in 1:53.0 in the $9,200 purse event.
Blakemore moves up the inside to score the win, his second of 2023 by a neck Sunday, July 2 at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
Blakemore used early speed from the inside post but it was longshot Holy Moment and Todd McCarthy who rallied from the outside to take over the top spot early, posting the first quarter in :26.1. Virgil N and David Miller could not find a hole on the inside so they drove forward to the lead and set the second fraction of :56.0. Down the backstretch, Bamski and Tim Tetrick were moving first over and had company following him forward at the three-quarters in 1:24.1. Blakemore chose to stay inside and was shuffled back to fifth
When Bamski began to tire, horses behind him moved three wide and it also gave Holy Moment the opportunity to move out to challenge. This left some room on the inside for Blakemore to dip to the inside and pace home in :28.2 for the win by a neck over Virgil N and David Miller. Smileandsaycheese and Troy Beyer moved up to finish third.
Blakemore paid $13.20 for the win. The nine-year-old son of Rockin Image is owned by Rosa Barrera and James Jacobs. Matias Ruiz trains the gelding, who was bred by Jo Anne Shetler.
Blakemore earned his second win of 2023 and his 29th overall. The veteran pacer now has more than $300,000 on his card with his career best time taken as a five-year-old at Harrah’s Hoosier Park in 1:51.3. He is a recent acquisition by his current connections and has changed hands 25 times after leaving the Shetler Stable. He won several races for Dan Shetler and Kristin Shetler scored a win with the gelding in the special Lady Driver Pace at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. He left the Shetler barn during the summer of his three-year-old season and joined the Trent Stohler barn for a couple of years before moving to Ohio and then onto the East Coast.
A few races later, Blakemore was joined by Feherty as Indiana sired winners on the Sunday card. The seven-year-old Tellitlikeitis gelding turned in a gate to wire effort as the favorite, winning by a neck in 1:53.3 with Tim Tetrick in the bike. Itaintezbeincheesy and David Miller closed for second over Needham Hanover and Simon Allard for third.
Feherty is owned by Sandra Yetman and trained by Chuck Crissman Jr. It was the sixth win of 2023 and 22nd overall for the veteran, who did not race as a two-year-old. However, he made up for lost time at three, winning six races and taking a mark of 1:49.3 at The Meadowlands. That mark remains his career best time.