It was a filly-filled program at Summerside Raceway on Thursday evening, as the PEI half-miler played host to multiple divisions of the Atlantic Sires Stakes for sophomore pacers.
The 12-race card consisted of a trio of $8,320 "A" divisions plus five $2,500 "B" splits.
Emily J Down took the first "A" division in a career-best clocking of 1:59.2 for trainer Stephen Downey and driver Danny Romo. It was the third win of the season for the filly, who defeated runner-up Tobins Paradise (Gilles Barrieau) and third-place finisher Diplomate Girl (Gary Chappell).
The Downey Stables' homebred daughter of Drop Off has won seven of 21 starts while banking in excess of $45,000.
Hermione Benka took advantage of a pocket trip in the second division en route to posting a narrow score in 1:58.2 for trainer/driver Bernard McCallum. Southview Spring (Walter Cheverie) set the pace and settled for second while Grayland Becky (Danny Romo) grabbed the show dough.
The Western Paradise miss, who won for the fifth time in her career, has stashed away just over $10,000 for breeder Jeffrey Hennigar of Greenfield, NS, who co-owns the pacer with Duncan Ferguson of Scotch Bridge, NB.
Elm Grove Ilse took the final division in a time of 1:58.1 for trainer/driver Clare MacDonald, who watched the Western Paradise filly extend her win streak to three-in-a-row. She rallied from far off the pace to defeat pacesetter Rhondas Belle (Brian MacPhee), who settled for the runner-up award. Whatagirl (Harold Shepherd) was third.
The filly has racked up four wins in 17 lifetime starts for Robert Gordon of PEI and Nova Scotia partners Morah Kerr and Phonsie McEachern. Her bankroll jumped to $18,871 with the win.
Victorious in their "B" divisions were:
P H Quickcat - 1:59
Oceanview Sue - 2:02.1
Evening Star - 2:02.1
Cruising Hillary - 2:03.2
Rivervue Jameen - 2:03.3
Harness racing will resume at Summerside Raceway on Friday evening at 7 p.m. Stakes action returns to the PEI oval on Saturday as the three-year-old pacing colts and geldings will square off in multiple ATSS divisions. Post time for Saturday's first race is 7 p.m.
To view Thursday's results, click here.