Al Papi, Odds On Mr Mamba favorites for the Adios
If not Al Papi or Odds On Mr Mamba, then who will be the winner Saturday afternoon in the Grade 1, $420,000 Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids?
Al Papi (Ron Burke and Yannick Gingras) and Odds On Mr Mamba (Melanie Wrenn and James McDonald) won their respective elimination races last weekend and are the morning line favorites this week.
Post time is 11:30 a.m.
Here are three potential winners, other than the favorites, who could cross the finish line first based on class, driver and trainer. And speed.
Frantic Hanover (Burke, Tim Tetrick). That’s Hall of Fame connections and a horse that could have won his elimination last week.
A year ago, Frantic Hanover was among the best 2-year-old pacers. Tetrick knows how to win. With the right trip, an Adios winning performance would seem reasonable.
Never, ever count out driver Dexter Dunn. Leaving from the rail seems like a boon. He is still looking for his first Adios final winning drive. It’s going to happen sometime. Another C Note, another Burke Stable, Fredericktown, product had a big winning streak to open the season. He fell off a bit but seems capable of a big performance with a great driver.
The No. 9 post notwithstanding, Melillo has faced the odds before. He’s a serious contender. Ronnie Wrenn Jr. will get him moving off the gate. If he gets a trip, a win will not shock anyone. Burke has Melillo and Al Papi peaking right now.
One more for good measure: While Burke has maintained for a few weeks now, something seems amiss with Loua Dipa. She will leave from the fifth post. While it seems the luster came off her in finishing fourth last week in her elimination. One never knows.
Driver Mike Wilder said he appreciates the catch drive. He might really like it if the real Loua Dipa steps up.
Other Adios finalists include Sweet Lovin Lou (Danile Lagace, Scott Zeron), Treacherous Lou (Robert Cleary, Andrew McCarthy) and Toast of the Town (Noel Daly, Todd McCarthy). Todd McCarthy has won the past two Adios’ as a driver.
It’s tough not to focus on Al Papi and Odds On Mamba.
Odds On Mr Mamba is the No. 4 rated horse in this week’ s Hambletonian top 10 and Al Papi’s victory in 1:47.2, establishing the second fastest mile of all time at the racetrack. It was Al Papi’s first win this year in eight starts.
Odds On Mr. Mamba (Post #3) has two Burke horses to his left and two to his right.
“James (McDonald) wanted to pick (Post) 3,” said Melanie Wrenn, trying to become the fourth female trainer to win The Adios. “James was adamant. At this point, I felt it was important to keep the driver happy. He must have some strategy in his head.
“It’s going to be a hard race and difficult to figure out how this will go down. Anything can happen. It’s going to be a drag race. I have no idea how it will turn out.”
Burke is comfortable with the draw; however, he admits he wished Melillo was not in post #9.
“I have in mind how the race is going to go,” Burke said. “Melillo’s going to have to earn it. But there is a way.
“My drivers are the best that are going right now. So, we’ll take our chances.”
Gingras said while post position matters, it’s a horse race.
“To be quite honest with you, if Odds On Mr Mamba were worried (about being surrounded by Burke horses) – I know he’s not – but if he is, that would be his problem. If I was driving the horse in that race, I wouldn’t be concerned.
“You can’t worry about somebody else or anybody else in the race. You got to drive your horse, try to put the other horses in a spot they don’t want to be in. James is a great driver and he knows his job.
I think he’ll be just fine. I think people are way overthinking that. At the end of the day, it’s a horse race. I don’t think it matters to James and I can promise you it wouldn’t matter to me.”
Coverage of the Adios will begin with two hours of content across Primetime Racing’s (www.primteimteharnessracing.com) social media platforms (2 p.m. to 4 p.m.) before transitioning to a live national, one-hour cable telecast on CBS Sports Network at 5:00 p.m.