A set of $13,500 Preferred tilts capped off a busy day of racing at Western Fair Raceway on Monday afternoon, with Countess Stormont and Ricks Sign winning their
respective assignments.
Countess Stormont played a game of “catch me if you can” in the $13,500 Preferred Trot, and she won it for the team of driver Jonathan Drury and trainer Norm Jones.
The five-year-old daughter of Kadabra shot to the lead from her Post 6 perch and supplied the square-gaited group with fractions of :28.2, :59.1 and 1:28.1 before finishing off her foes with a :30.3 final frame. She stopped the clock in 1:58.4, winning by a neck over Nureyev. Home Stretch, who was sent off as the 9-5 favourite, finished third.
Stormont Meadows of Long Sault, ON bred and owns the 21-time winner, who now boasts a bankroll of $384,084. She was sent off at odds of 8-1.
Ricks Sign tripped out on cover for the majority of his Monday afternoon assignment, and when driver Eric Carlson called on him to accelerate he had no problem summoning up speed.
The Paul Holzman-trained five-year-old son of Life Sign sat on cover behind Jiffyson, who prompted Acceptable Risk through middle splits of :58.4 and 1:27.1. Ricks Sign vaulted off cover turning for home and used a :28.2 final quarter to prevail by three-quarters of a length over Surrealist in 1:56. Acceptable Risk wound up finishing third.
Andrew Sassen of Hillsboro Beach, FL holds the ownership papers on the gelding who now owns an 11-for-31 record this season. The 18-time winner is closing in on $80,000 in earnings.
To view Monday’s results, click here.