The curtain closed on Grand River Raceway’s 2010 season on Monday evening, and among the festivities was the opening leg of the Xtreme Sprint Series
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Dusty Lane Tate, who was sent off as the longest shot in the board in the opening division, upset her rivals at odds of 22-1 in a time of :56-seconds for the half-mile dash-for-the-cash.
Scott Coulter had the pedal to the metal with the Paul Belanger, Jr.-trained daughter of Western Paradise, who mixed it up with race favourite Cousin Nate to the quarter pole in a :27-second clip before putting away that foe and drawing away to win by 1-1/4 lengths. Torrent Seelster was second best and Cousin Nate had to settle for third.
John Sinclair of Palmerston, ON owns the career winner of $37,894.
Panastasia chalked up another win for the ladies when she beat the girls and the guys in the second division in coast-to-coast fashion. The five-year-old daughter of No Pan Intended drilled past the quarter pole in :26.3 for driver Doug McNair en route to the one-length score in :56 seconds over Da Plane Boss. Warrawee Kiwi rounded out the top three finishers.
Terry Oenema trains the 11-time winner for Rachel Oenema of Burgessville, ON. The lion’s share of the purse bumped her bankroll to $57,074.
Xtreme Sprint Standings
Dusty Lane Tate - 50 pts
Panastasia - 50 pts
Da Plane Boss - 25 pts
Torrent Seelster - 25 pts
Cousin Nate - 12 pts
Warrawee Kiwi - 12 pts
Keystone Nite Hawk - 8 pts
The Belt Parkway - 8 pts
Red Star Drooler - 5 pts
Ruby Scooter - 5 pts
Tied with 4 pts are: Broad Chaser, Rain Activator, Emerald Jaguar, Mr Innocent, Dolce And Gapanna and Roses Scholar.
Georgian Downs will host the second leg of the Xtreme Sprint, a five-eights-of-a-mile contest, on Friday, October 29. The box will close at noon on Tuesday, October 26.
Flamboro Downs will host a leg of the Xtreme Sprint, this time at a distance of a half-mile, on Sunday, October 31. The box will close at noon on Thursday, October 28.
Kawartha Downs and Western Fair Raceway will each host legs of the Xtreme Sprint on Tuesday, November 2. The entry box for Kawartha’s five-eighths-of-a-mile event will close at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 28. The Western Fair Raceway entry box will close at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 28 for the half-mile dash.
The Xtreme Sprint is open to pacers, four years old and upwards that have started in an $8,000 or less claiming event at a racetrack in Ontario after August 31, 2010.
The top nine point earners from the Xtreme Sprint legs will advance to the $20,000 championship, a one-lap, five-eighths-of-one-mile dash, at Georgian Downs on November 16.
To view Monday’s results, click here.