Jockey Shane Sellers maintained his perfect record in Final 14 competition when he and Allijeba flew down the stretch to capture the East regional Sunday at Arlington International Racecourse.
But the jockey`s mark wouldn`t be unblemished if not for a few strange twists and turns.
”This is a funny game,” said Sellers, who got the win after Allijeba`s jockey, Ricky Frazier, weighed out with less than his allotted impost after the race. ”Last year in the final I rode Tex`s Zing and got beat by this horse. But they put my number up and I ended up winning the $250,000. Now I get a chance to win the $250,000 on this horse.”
The Final 14 was conceived to allow horses who have not won a Grade I or II stakes to compete for a rich purse. Contestants from the four regionals will compete in the Final 14 championship Oct. 12 at Hawthorne.
Allijeba was content to sit in last while Whodam, Irish Swap and The Great Carl took turns fighting for the lead.
”On the backside I was a bit worried because I knew they were going quick on the front end,” Sellers said. ”These are good horses; they can go that fast and keep running. My horse just wouldn`t get into the bit. Around the turn I kept riding him, and when he kicked in I knew that if I had enough ground that I would catch them. He`s a dynamite horse.”
Allijeba posted a 1 1/4-length win in the $50,000-guaranteed mile event. Allijeba paid $6.80, $3.80 and $2.80 as the race`s second betting choice. Favored Sports View, who hadn`t started since April 25, finished fourth.
Sellers won both Sunday stakes when he piloted Little Sucker to a win in the co-featured $37,185 Windy City Stakes. The Wayne Catalano trainee remained undefeated in two starts when she took command after a half-mile to post a 4 1/2-length victory.
The second betting choice paid $4.80, $2.10 and $2.10 in the Illinois-bred stakes for 2-year-old fillies.
