James R. Piper’s Call You in Ten marked himself as a horse to watch when he burst clear after the final fence of a $30,000 optional allowance race at Penn National Race Course and held off Miss Crown for a 1 3/4-length victory on Friday, June 18. Easy Red, the 2.40-to-1 favorite who had led at the last fence, held on to finish third, 3 1/4 lengths farther back in a field of nine.
Trained by Doug Fout, Call You in Ten had won the George Sloan and John Sloan Sr. Sport of Kings maiden hurdle by three lengths at the Iroquois Races in Nashville, Tenn., on May 8 in only his second career start and his first over fences. With Jeff Murphy again in the saddle for the Penn National race, the four-year-old Ten Most Wanted gelding raced in seventh early as Jonathan Sheppard’s Sparkled broke on top with Laura Thiel Shull’s Moving Violation right behind him.
After the second fence of the 2 1/16-mile race over National Fences, Moving Violation opened a large lead but tired after 1 1/2 miles and returned the lead to Sparkled, who was challenged by Dumbarton Farm’s Easy Red after the seventh fence.
Easy Red took control nearing the final run down Penn National’s homestretch, but Murphy had Call You in Ten on the move, and they jumped to the lead at the last fence and quickly opened daylight. Owner-trainer Kate Dalton’s Miss Crown swept from the back of the pack to seize second place. Call You in Ten, sent off at 6.90-to-1, ran the distance in 3:39.53 on firm turf.
In the other steeplechase race on the Penn National program, All Together had everything all together and scored a 3 1/2-length victory over Grantor in a $25,000 maiden special weight race. Owned by Arcadia Stables and Mrs. Rufus Williams, 7.60-to-1 All Together swept from well back under Xavier Aizpuru to take the lead at the final fence. Trained by Jack Fisher, the five-year-old Danzig gelding completed the 2 1/16 miles in 3:42.71.