The Frank & Beth Stanfield Memorial Stakes ended in a pair of close calls with three-year-old pacing fillies Our Girl Annie and Saulsbrook Mabel prevailing in their respective $26,940 divisions during Friday's stakes action at Truro Raceway.
Favourite Our Girl Annie caught pacesetter Rock N Roll Cays in the first Stanfield split, taking a new lifetime mark of 1:55.3 over the 'good' track for trainer Eddy Doucette. Driver Corey MacPherson worked out a perfect pocket trip for the Arthur Blue Chip filly and she kicked home in :28.3 for her third sophomore stakes victory. A career winner of nine races, Our Girl Annie has finished no worse than fourth in 15 lifetime starts while banking more than $75,000 for breeder Blaine Thibeau and co-owners Jessica and Jennifer Thibeau. Onlythegooddiyoung advanced first-over and rounded out the top three finishers nearly five lengths behind.
Saulsbrook Mabel crossed to the lead into the first turn and held off the popular pocket-pursuer Woodmere Clara to win the other division by a head in 1:56.4 for driver Gilles Barrieau and Joseph Baxter, who trains and co-owns the daughter of Malicious with breeder Saulsbrook Stables. After a perfect three-for-three freshman campaign, the front-favouring filly now has two wins and three seconds from five sophomore starts to lift her bankroll to more than $42,000. Next In Line was next across the finish line in third after her first-over journey, finishing more than two lengths back.
Friday's card also featured a pair of top-level $9,220 Atlantic Sires Stakes divisions for two-year-old male pacers.
Tobins Chester took the lead at the quarter pole and fought off Little Leroy to win the faster division in 1:59.2 by 3-1/4 lengths for trainer/driver Jason Hughes and owner Don MacRae. The gelded son of Shanghai Phil is perfect in his first two career starts, both in Sires Stakes. Early leader Pauls Crown finished third.
Trained by Melissa Rennie and driven by Adam Merner, Merigo Magic led wire-to-wire to win his division in 2:00.1 by 4-1/4 lengths over Rockin Your Boots and Resuscitate. The Tobago Cays gelding out of Maritimes stakes standout Meridian Magic followed up a runner-up debut in the first leg of the Sires Stakes with his maiden win. He is off to a promising start for owners Mike May, Herman McQuaid, Derrick Cameron and Ian Walker.
A pair of $4,000 B divisions were won by first-time starter Jack Boswall (Ken Murphy) in 2:00 for trainer Jeff Holmes and the maiden-breaking Dunsan Harry (Corey MacPherson) in 2:01.3 for trainer Saul Lanigan.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Truro Raceway.