A runner-up in his last three starts facing Preferred company, Itll Be Fine landed back in the winner's circle where he started the Fraser Downs meet for trainer Rick Lancaster.
Driver Kelly Hoerdt put Itll Be Fine on the lead in Friday's featured $10,000 Preferred Handicap Pace and set uncontested fractions of :29 and :59.1 before 4-5 favourite Outlaw C My Shadow (Connie Kolthammer), returning to the top class he dominated earlier this year, popped the pocket. Those two raced head-to-head past three-quarters in 1:26.2, but Outlaw C My Shadow had enough of it, leaving Itll Be Fine to hold off the late-closing longshot, Mach Steady (John Abbott), in the stretch. He prevailed by half a length in 1:54.1. Vertical Squirt (Clint Warrington) edged out Waitin Ona River (Kevin Anderson) for the show spot more than three lengths behind.
A Preferred winner on Sept. 15 with three subsequent second-place finishes, Itll Be Fine was sent postward as the 7-2 second choice and returned $9.30 to win.
Itll Be Fine, who spent the months between Fraser meets racing in Minnesota, now sports a seasonal record reading 6-8-3 from 24 starts with $54,733 banked in purses. The win was his 13th lifetime and lifted his career bankroll to $138,207.
Lancaster shares ownership of the four-year-old Hes Watching gelding with Leslie Godlien of Langley, B.C.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Fraser Downs.