Meirs Hanover drew away to an eye-catching open length triumph in the $100,000 Cam Fella Stakes on Saturday night at Woodbine Racetrack, setting a new stakes record of 1:49.1 and lowering the Canadian season’s record
. The Cam Fella Stakes is for four and five-year-olds that are non-winners of $100,000 as of Oct. 31, 2010.
Aled Hanover (Scott Zeron) fired off the gate with outside starter Jackets Required (Randy Waples) rolling up alongside and clearing just past the :26.2 opening quarter.
As the field hit the three-eights mark, driver Jody Jamieson rolled elimination winner Meirs Hanover to the top from fourth and reached the half in :54.4.
Moving out to a two and a half length lead, Meirs Hanover flew past the third quarter mark in 1:22 and continued to extend that margin. The four-year-old son of Artsplace-Mart Mattgalene cruised to an impressive six and three-quarter length victory in 1:49.1, the first sub-1:50 mile of the season on Canadian soil. Jackets Required and Aled Hanover finished second and third.
Trained by David Menary for Ohio owners David Van Dusen, Michael Cimaglio and Strollin Stable, Meirs Hanover has won six races in eight seasonal starts including the Clyde Hirt and Exit16W Series Finals at the Meadowlands.
"He's a privilege to have in the barn," Menary told WEG's Media Department following the victory. "He was solid last week after having nearly a month off and I knew he would be better tonight, as he was back on the seven-day rotation.
"I think he will get some time off now. Jody said that he had lots left and he never pulled the ear plugs."
The lion’s share of the purse boosted Meirs Hanover's earnings to $154,400 for 2011 and $248,439 lifetime.
Meirs Hanover paid $2.10 to win as the popular choice.
Alexie Mattosie and Our Lucky Killean also delivered on their pari-mutuel promises in Preferred action.
Alexie Mattosie doubled up in the $35,000 Preferred Pace with Paul MacDonell in the bike for trainer Don Lindsey, who shares ownership with Paul Kleinpaste, William Alempijevic and Dennis Mavrin.
Mr Saratoga (Keith Oliver) flashed early gate speed and took command of the field while Stonebridge On Ice (Mike Saftic) settled into the pocket ahead of 4-5 favourite Alexie Mattosie during a speedy :26.4 first quarter.
Alexie Mattosie was out from third at the quarter pole and took over command as they moved into the backstretch. The half was up in :55.2, followed by three-quarters in 1:24.2 with Gotcha Covered (Scott Zeron) committing first over and Twin B Warrior (Randy Waples) following his cover. However, Alexie Mattosie held on to a comfortable lead as he paced to the wire in 1:51.4. Twin B Warrior came on for second over Gotcha Covered.
Alexie Mattosie paid $3.80 to win. The five-year-old son of No Pan Intended-Dame Crombie has won four of his seven seasonal starts including the Presidential Series Final. His earnings climbed to $128,770 for 2011 and $442,845 lifetime with tonight’s winnings.
After four straight runner-up performances at the Preferred 2 level in previous weeks, $1.3 million earner Our Lucky Killean finally made it to the winner’s circle on Saturday night.
Upfront Hoosierboy (Mario Baillargeon) found himself upfront off the gate in the $28,000 event. He sprinted to the opening quarter in :26.4 and the half in :55.2.
During the third interval, even money favourite Our Lucky Killean, driven by Mark MacDonald, made his move from fifth with Kindly Poet (Doug McNair) following his cover. That move flushed Raining Again (Jody Jamieson) out of the pocket before the 1:23.3 third quarter mark.
Still in command, Upfront Hoosierboy turned for home but could not hold off the late closers. Our Lucky Killean swept by to win in 1:51.3 by three-quarters of a length with Kindly Poet and Grin For Money (Jack Moiseyev) coming on for second and third.
Our Lucky Killean paid $4.20 to win. The 10-year-old Camluck-Our Emblem gelding notched his third win in nine 2011 starts pushing his earnings to $68,460 for trainer Casie Coleman and owner Mac Nichol of Burlington, Ont.
For results from Saturday's harness racing card, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine.