In a thrilling performance on Saturday, Aug. 10, at MGM Northfield Park, the impressive three-year-old pacer Sabonis clinched the victory in the $410,959 Carl Milstein Memorial. Overcoming early blistering fractions set by Timeisonmyside, Sabonis demonstrated resilience and speed in the late stages of the race to secure his eighth consecutive win.
Despite it being Sabonis' first race on a half-mile track, winning trainer Aaron Stutzman expressed confidence in the colt’s abilities.
“He was pretty good at home on a half; I figured we would give it a shot,” Stutzman remarked. Dan Noble quickly placed his horse, Pariss Dragon, into a strong early position, but Timeisonmyside, driven by Anthony MacDonald, refused to yield. The duo blistered through a first quarter clocked at an astonishing :25.4.
Stutzman was optimistic about the horse's performance as the race progressed. After Timeisonmyside reached a challenging half in :54.1, Sabonis found himself further behind, navigating traffic and forced to go three-wide to gain ground. As the race turned for home, with Timeisonmyside maintaining a two-length lead and the rest of the field chasing, Putnam remained confident in Sabonis’ capabilities.
Turning into the stretch, Sabonis surged ahead, ultimately crossing the finish line in an impressive time of 1:50.3. Timeisonmyside held strong for second, and Wish You Well finished third. With the victory, Sabonis pushed his career earnings to $445,400, improving his lifetime record to an impressive 12 wins out of 14 starts.