Castle Flight, the Indiana sired gelding who equaled the track record of 1:47.2 set by Sweet Lou at Harrah’s Hoosier Park last spring, was a dominant winner in the $12,000 Open Pace Saturday, Feb. 22 at Hawthorne Racecourse. Guided by Kyle Wilfong, the Panspacificflight gelding stopped the timer in 1:51.1.
Castle Flight is shown equaling the track record at Harrah’s Hoosier Park last spring. LeWayne Miller drove the Panspacificflight gelding in the mile. Photo by Linscott Photography
Handicapped to the outside post seven in the nine-horse lineup, Castle Flight got away well toward the front as Account Rollover and Todd Warren stormed to the lead at the quarter. Wilfong had Castle Flight back out and rolling to secure the lead before the halfway mark. His dominance continued and he opened up to a five-length advantage at the wire, turning in a final panel in :27.2. Trained by Derek Burklund, Castle Flight was a bit overlooked at the windows, paying $9.00 to win.
Owned by Growth Opportunities of Ohio, Castle Flight earned his first win of the year, scoring his 29th career trip to the winner’s circle. The eight-year-old now has in excess of $316,000 in career earnings. He was bred by Alvin Fry of Millersburg, Ind.