Why Not Now sustains first-over strike in Progress
November 22, 2023
Fotowon photos
Dover, DE — Why Not Now sustained a first-over push through the final half of a 1:48.2 mile to reel in El Rey and evade Moment Is Here in winning the $260,000 Progress Pace, for 3-year-old colts and geldings, on Wednesday (Nov. 22) at Bally’s Dover.
Andy McCarthy sat patiently with Why Not Now while El Rey (driven by Dexter Dunn) was pushed by Moment Is Here (Tim Tetrick) through the first turn. El Rey was strung out by even-money favorite Cannibal (Yannick Gingras) as well while Moment Is Here eased into third at the end of a :25.4 first quarter.
With a circuit to go, Ervin Hanover (Joe Bongiorno) angled off the pegs from seventh to flush an outer flow from midfield, ultimately prompting Why Not Now to begin his first-over ascent at the :53.3 half-mile point.
Why Not Now gained in earnest up the backstretch, working into a joint second past three-quarters in 1:20.1 and taking aim on El Rey turning for home. The son of Always A Virgin-Star Of The Show ground into the lead at the sixteenth pole and evaded the three-wide charge of Moment Is Here by a length. El Rey was a beaten third.
Trainer Dylan Davis co-owns Why Not Now, a nine-time winner from 27 career starts with $706,880 in the bank, with Howard Taylor and Jeffrey Billings. As the 5-2 second choice, Why Not Now returned $7.80 to win.
