‘Main Power’ claims crown at Shelbyville
The Franklin, Tenn.-based trainer won the big stake for the first time in his career for the consortium of Holland, King, and Kilgore of Decatur, Arab, and Tuscaloosa, AL. The six-year-old stallion bested a field of 10 entries that had to endure two workouts by the judging panel. Main Power and Cotten were the Reserve World Grand Champions in 2004.
Finishing second in the class was Private Charter and Knox Blackburn, also of Franklin, Tenn. NYPD and Tim Gray, chosen by many as the odds-on favorite to win the coveted title, finished third. A Strong Dollar and Link Webb were fourth while Russ Thompson of Devore Heights, Calif., guided It’s Billy The Kid to a fifth Place finish.
In other action on the final night of the Celebration, Silverado Spirit and Erin Graf of South Portsmouth, Kent., captured the Owner-Amateur Riders on Walking Mares and Geldings World Grand Championship.
Becky Coleman guided Shock Jock to the Owner-Amateur Riders on Three-Year-Old Walking Horses World Grand Championship while Robert Nelms led Stormy’s Silky Sue to the Walking Weanling World Grand Championship.
Trish Wooten and Genius Dixie Chick were chosen Western Plantation Pleasure Lite Shod World Grand Champions.
The Two-Year-Old World Grand Championship was claimed by Gen on the Run with Justin Harris aboard. He’s a Weekend Warrior and Sam Martin were second while Mighty Maxx A Million and Rodney Dick were third.
Jose Quervo Gold and Jeff Ray were the winners in the Plantation Pleasure, Lite Shod, Amateur Riders, World Grand Championship.
The Walking Mares and Geldings World Grand Championship was claimed by Joe Cotten aboard Cheatin? Danger for the second year in a row.
Bill Johnson aboard JFK’s Monopoly claimed the Owner-Amateur Riders on Four-Year-Old Walking Horses World Grand Championship. This combination won the Owner-Amateur Three-Year-Old World Grand Championship in 2004.
The Owner-Amateur Riders on Walking Horses World Grand Championship was a battle of attrition with Generator’s Champion and Caresse Mills of Germantown, Tenn claiming the blue ribbon and championship for the second year in a row.
Paid attendance on Saturday was 27,064 while actual attendance was 26,981. The Celebration posted an actual attendance of 157,899 coming through the turnstiles over the ten nights of the show while over 233,000 tickets were sold for the event. The nights of the show during the remnants of Hurricane Katrina saw significant drops in attendance. Gas shortages throughout the southeast appeared to cut into attendance on the final weekend.
For complete class results of the entire 2004 Celebration, log on to www.twhnc.com.