Trainer Murray Brethour had much to celebrate on Friday night at Woodbine Racetrack as his stable stars finished first and second in the $34,000 final of the Blizzard Series.
After finishing second in both preliminary legs, Miss Poppycock scored the 10-1 upset for Brethour with stablemate Murrayfield finishing just half a length behind in second in a 1:54.1 mile.
Rock N Roll Xample (Billy Davis Jr.) was the quickest to the front off the gate, but post 10 starter Zip Car (Doug McNair) zipped by at the :26.4 quarter pole. Heading towards the half, Lyonsaura (Randy Waples) angled out of third to take over command and led the field past the mid-way point in :55.3.
Longshot Shutthefrontdoor (Mike Saftic) began the first over attack heading to the three-quarters mark, giving live cover to the post time favourite and undefeated Sayitall BB (Jody Jamieson). Brethour’s entries were also coming from off the pace with Murrayfield sitting third over and Miss Poppycock fourth over.
Lyonsaura led her nine rivals past three-quarters in 1:24.1 and into the stretch, but her strides began to shorten as Sayitall BB, Murrayfield and Miss Poppycock were rallying from the backfield.
Miss Poppycock had the most momentum on the far outside in deep stretch and was able to score the victory over stablemate Murrayfield. Early trailer Winbak Ella (Sylvain Filion) closed for third between the Brethour duo, finishing less than a length behind.
Miss Poppycock, a four-year-old daughter of Mach Three, is owned by Scarff Legacy Stables of Halifax, N.S. The pacing miss celebrated the biggest victory of her career and her bankroll now sits at $86,085. She has put together a 2-2-0 record from four starts this season.
Miss Poppycock paid $22.50 to win.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Racetrack.
(With files from WEG)