Even gridlock on the final turn could not deter Traffic Jam ($9.60) in Tuesday evening's (July 24) featured $11,500 Preferred 2 for distaff pacers at Georgian Downs, as she sped through an inside seam to nab Cut And Paste right at the winning post in 1:54.1.
Starting from the pole in the field of six, Traffic Jam was joined by Cut And Paste (Robert Shepherd) and Southwind Ion (J Harris) in vying for the early lead. While Southwind Ion cleared, Colin Kelly kept the pocket closed with Traffic Jam and forced Cut And Paste to retreat to third through a :27.2 first quarter. After Southwind Ion pulled the half back to :56.3 over off going, Cut And Paste resurfaced with three-eighths to go and pushed boldly past Southwind Ion through a :28.1 third quarter. Meanwhile, Traffic Jam was shuffled into midfield and bottled up as Bid Writer (Travis Henry) attempted to gain in the two-path.
Turning for home, Kelly and Traffic Jam found a lane up the pegs, and they successfully chased down a fully-extended Cut And Paste, reaching in the last stride. Cousin Mary (Scott Wray), who circled three-wide off stalled cover to be third past the post, was disqualified after causing interference to fourth-place finisher Pretty Hot (Jason Ryan) on the final turn, thus causing Pretty Hot to be elevated to third.
Traffic Jam earned her fifth career win for trainer Martin Lachance. The Lachance Racing Stable and Dragon Racing Inc. share ownership of the four-year-old Artiscape mare.
To view Tuesday's harness racing results, click the following link: Tuesday Results – Georgian Downs.