While the Actspectation and Timber Yield was the big race, Blackberry Sting on the outside, came back to nose out Eddie Nathan in their 7 Furlong Race.

Actspectation's streak continues with another win over Timber Yield

By DEAN GREENAWAY

Actspectation easily stretched his winning streak to 16 Sunday, after a 15 length victory over rival Timber Yield in their rematch at the Little A. Race Track. Leading from start to finish, the Virgin Islands top horse covered the 1-mile race in 1:41-2/5, prompting owner Bob Hodge to say "Send another one come."

Hodge said he wasn't worried about the race. "I know Timber Yield is suppose to be a better horse on paper, but, on the race track, my horse is the better horse," he said.

Early in the race, Timber Yield's jockey James Bruin knew they were in trouble. "We wanted to take the lead right out of the gate but it couldn't happen. Actspectation wouldn't let us," he explained. "Act out broke out on us a little bit. We hit the first turn running and we broke right on top of the turn. Timber Yield is a big horse and he had a little bit of trouble making the first turn, because we dead run into it. By time we turned up the backside, Actspectation just opened up on us and he just beat us. He beat us bad."

Said Hodge's wife Letty; "Our strategy was to kick his butt, that's all. We know the horse cannot beat us. I'm not saying that Actspectation would not lose a race, but Timber Yield, he won't be the one. No horse is going to set our pace. Actspectation will set the pace."

Bruin said he could give an excuse for Timber Yield. "He seemed to be OK. Last time when he ran here against Actspectation he got very tired and we got beat by four or five lengths. Today he beat us pretty handily."

Bruin anticipated a good race. "I thought it would be a very close race. Even if we didn't win, I thought it would be a down the stretch duel," he said. "But he ran off and left us pretty easy."

After winning in St. Thomas with a track record in his last outing, Timber Yield's owner Andrew 'Akbar' Frett said his horse came out flat and didn't give the race he expected. He planed to bring in a veterinarian on Monday to evaluate his horse. "He just didn't run today. He got beat and there's no excuses. I'm going to have to go to the drawing table and see what's wrong with him."

Frett said he was confident his horse would run a better race than in the first meeting. "But, it looked like it got worst. There's a problem somewhere."

Three St. Thomas horses were victorious. Syberian Jewel tamed Mountain Man at seven furlongs. Black Berry Sting came from behind and nosded out Eddie Nathan in 1:32-2/5 over seven furlongs. Two Delicious was a wire to wire victor over Honest Past, covering a mile in 1:46-3/5, while Wally turned back Supremacy over seven furlongs in 1:28-1/5.