Post seven turned out to be a non-issue for West River Xtra, who registered a track record-setting effort in Thursday’s $14,515 Nova Scotia Stake for two-year-old pacing fillies at Northside Downs.
Bred, owned, trained and driven by Clare MacDonald, West River Xtra captured the rich affair in a career-best clocking of 1:59.4. The effort shaved two-fifth’s a of a second off of the former mark of 2:00.1 set by Semjac Legacy in 2008.
MacDonald got away fifth with the daughter of Western Paradise-West River Isobel while Pictonian Sylvia secured the lead and threw down the :30-second opening panel. Carol Alice went into attack mode in the second quarter, and she brushed her way to the top and proceeded to carve out middle splits of 1:01.1 and 1:30.1. West River Xtra, who was on the move on the way to the half, managed to duck into the two-hole in the backstretch before rallying in the lane and notching the win by 1-3/4 lengths over the 1-5 favourite, Carol Alice. Putnams Kream rounded out the top three finishers in the seven-filly affair.
Sent off at odds of 9-1, West River Extra picked up her second lifetime win from just four trips to the track. The filly’s richest payday to date helped boost her earnings to $8,231. The filly is a sibling to a number of solid performers including West River Quota (1:56.2 - $124,437), West River Neldie (1:57.4 - $82,212) and West River Tex (1:55 - $55,015).
To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results – Northside Downs.