Post 7 and 11-1 odds were not enough to stop Southwind Ricardo ($25.90) on Sunday (Nov. 11) at Northside Downs, as the five-year-old Dragon Again gelding captured the $5,000 final of the Governors Cup Series.
Southwind Ricardo and driver Brett LeBlanc timed the gate well and got away third, as Tipperbackjack (driven by Red Doucet) led the field past the :29.1 quarter pole.
Over a ‘good’ track rated one second slow, Tipperbackjack was engaged in the second quarter by the Rodney Gillis-driven Make Me Stupid, who had come first-up from second to trip the half-mile timer in 1:00.2 while overland.
The battle between the two leaders continued in the third quarter, as Tipperbackjack refused to release Makes Me Stupid. The former clicked off the three-quarters clock in 1:30, all while LeBlanc had Southwind Ricardo in close striking position off the leaders.
The duelling leaders sparred past the head of the stretch, but LeBlanc was able to get Southwind Ricardo up past his foes in the lane to notch a three-quarters of one-length victory in 2:01 for trainer Harold LeBlanc.
Southwind Ricardo, pictured capturing the final of the Governors Cup Series at Northside Downs (Photo courtesy Tanya Romeo)
Tipperbackjack finished second and Make Me Stupid finished just a quarter of a length further back in third. Just one and three-quarter lengths separated the top six finishers in the race.
Southwind Ricardo has now won seven of his 27 seasonal starts and over $11,000 in 2018 purses. In terms of his career, Southwind Ricardo has won 20 of his 106 lifetime starts and has banked over $92,000 in purses.
The $2,500 consolation of the Governors Cup Series was contested earlier on the program (Race 6), and it was the Dana Getto-trained and Ryan Campbell-driven Surrealist ($5.20) that ground down the leaders to post a three-quarters of one-length win in 2:01.
The card also featured a $975 Winners-Over Pace (Race 9), and it was the Stanley Harper-trained and Redmond Doucet-driven Modern Best ($2.50) that recorded a one and a half-length victory in 2:01.3.
Southwind Ricardo is owned by Joel Leblanc (of Victoria Mines, NS), Harold Leblanc (Sydney, NS) and William Seymour (Glace Bay, NS).
The Northside vs. Inverness Raceway Driving Competition also concluded on the Sunday card with Redmond Doucet claiming victory. Holding a two-point lead entering the final prelim, Doucet secured victory when winning the first division with Saftic Seelster and finishing second in the other behind Southwind Jagger.
Winning the other division of the driving competition, Rodney Gillis propelled himself from fifth to a tie for second-place with Gerard Kennedy, who finished third and fourth in the final prelim. Kennedy shifted into the second-place tie as Mark Pezzarello, entering the card in second, collected two fifth-place finishes and appropriately dipped to the fifth slot on the leaderboard.
Below is the final point tally:
1. Redmond Doucet (68 points)
2. Gerard Kennedy (54 points)
3. Rodney Gillis (54 points)
4. Ryan Campbell (50 points)
5. Mark Pezzarello (42 points)
6. Andrew MacLean (28 points)
Doucet will receive a helmet painting donated by Leblanc Design and a gift card towards a uniform from Grahams Racing Silks.
To view the harness racing results for Sunday at Northside, click the following link: Sunday Results – Northside Downs.