Freshman pacing and trotting stars were on display at Truro Raceway on Sunday afternoon as the Nova Scotia half-miler hosted $3,000 Maritime Breeders Eliminations.
Rash Statement kicked things off with his win in the lone elimination for the freshman trotters. A group of nine squared off in the co-ed tilt, and Rash Statement could not be caught. The son of Northern Bailey-Reloaded sliced out splits of :32.2, 1:06.1 and 1:38.1 before cruising home in :31.2 to win by 4-1/4 lengths over Windemere George in 2:09.3. Irish Lullaby tagged along to finish third.
Mike Stevenson guided the gelding to the 45-1 upset for owner/trainer Joey Smallwood of Stratford, PE. It was a maiden-breaking score for the youngster, who now boasts a 1-0-4 record from nine starts. The $2,500 purchase from the 2011 Nova Scotia Provinicial Exhibition Yearling Sale, has banked just over $7,000 to date.
Pacing fillies were up next, and Ramblinglily survived a first-over journey to win the first elimination in 2:00.2 for driver Marc Campbell. The daughter of Articulator-Crafty Jewel, who hounded the tempo-setting Carol Alice in the back-half of the mile, used a :29-second closing quarter to prevail by a half-length margin over race favourite Carol Alice in 2:00.2. Top Brand rallied late to grab third prize.
Sent off at odds of 5-1, the filly extended her winning streak to two-in-a-row for co-owner trainer Allan Jones of Riverview and partner Normand Leger of Shediac, NB. The win improves her record to 4-1-1 from eight tries and the lion’s share of the purse bumped her earnings to $10,358.
Charlottes Starlet, a daughter of Coastocoast Yankee-OGs Starlett, wired up the six foes she faced in the second elimination. Kenny Arsenault hustled the Michael McGuigan-trainee to the lead and after carving fractions of :28.4, 1:01.2 and 1:32.2 she sealed the deal with a :30.2 closing quarter. The margin of victory was three-quarters of a length over Western Judy in 2:02.4. West River Xtra rounded out the top three finishers.
It was a maiden-breaking win for the youngster, who is owned by Drop Yer Gloves of Charlottetown, PE. Her 1-3-2 record from 12 starts has helped her stash away $6,729 in earnings.
Untouchable One extended his winning streak to three-in-a-row when he cruised to a 1:58.1 victory in the first of two eliminations for the pacing colts and geldings. Kenny Arsenault brushed the Sean Dooley pupil to the lead in the second quarter, and when the gelding reached the lead he kept on rolling en route to the win by 1-1/4 lengths over Starlet Chaser. Accelerated Pace, who did the first-over work, hung tough to finish third.
Sent off as the 1-5 favourite, the son of Carlspur-Bolero Tam Tam improved his rookie record to 8-1-0 from 10 starts. The Dooley Boys Racing Stable of Halifax, NS owns the career winner of $34,169.
The Rev got up in the final strides to win the other elimination in 1:59.4 for trainer/driver Danny Romo. The son of Western Paradise-Red Sea tracked cover from third over before rallying to win by one-quarter of a length over J B Bolt. Beach Paradise rounded out the top three finishers in the eight-horse affair.
Sent off as the 2-1 second choice, The Rev won for the fifth time this season from just 11 trips behind the starting gate for Nova Scotia partners Robert Skinner, Jeffrey Skinner, Stephen Tufts and GLB Stable. The pacer has stashed away more than $24,000 in earnings.
To view results for Sunday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Sunday Results – Truro Raceway.