The conclusion was never in doubt in tonight’s $50,000 second round of the Spring Pacing Championship at Woodbine Racetrack: 1-5 favourite Ramegade Bruiser and Chris Christoforou took command of a quality field of six mature pacers and never looked back
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Trainer/driver Dan Megens sent Stormaway to the early lead on this blustery night, but by the quarter pole the pocket-sitting Ramegade Bruiser had reversed their positions and had only wide-open racetrack ahead of him. Through fractions of :28.1, :57.1, and 1:24.3 the six-year-old son of Rambaran was never seriously challenged, and despite a strong headwind in the stretch he paced to the wire a length ahead of a slightly steppy Stormaway in 1:53.4. Jody Jamieson brought Eagle Luck home for third.
Ramegade Bruiser, who is owned and trained by Dave Brown of Cannington, Ont., will be gunning for the series sweep next Saturday night in the $91,000 (est.) final of the Spring Pacing Championships.
In four-year-old Open action, Real Celebration was the wire-to-wire winner for the second consecutive week for trainer Casie Coleman and owners Robert Darrow of Dublin, Ed Mullinax of Amherst and Ron Broadstone of Columbus, Ohio.
The Real Artist gelding left from the outside post position No. 8 with Mark MacDonald in tow and carved out panels of :28 and :56.4 before parking the first-over challenger, Anderlecht (Phil Hudon), through three-quarters in 1:24.3. Those two battled down the lane, but Real Celebration held tough to win by a neck in 1:54.2. Final Curtain (Joshua Marks) finished third.
Real Celebration notched his third win of the year in seven starts bumping his earnings to over $80,000. A winner of 10 races in his career, Real Celebration has banked a total of $170,839 for his connections.
In the $40,000 Preferred Pace, Bolero Charles converted a pocket trip into a 1:51.4 triumph for trainer Stephen Charlton and the Larocque Racing Stable of Thornhill, Ont.
Driven by Jody Jamieson, the seven-year-old son of Jennas Beach Boy showed early gate speed but was out-stepped by Our Lucky Killean (Randy Waples), who set the tempo with opening panels of :26.2 and :54.4. Escape The Wind (Jack Moiseyev) was out and rolling at the half from third and applied pressure through three-quarters in 1:22.1, but Bolero Charles popped the pocket in the stretch and prevailed ahead of Our Lucky Killean by two and a half lengths. The third-place finisher was Oliver Jackson (John Thomson), who rallied off second-over cover.
The win was his third of the year pushing his bankroll to over $61,000. Bolero Charles, who has earned $255,080 in his life, made his 19th trip to the winner's circle tonight.
Another star of the card was trainer Ben Baillargeon, who sent three pupils postward tonight. All three of those competitors put forth winning performances for the resident of Rockwood, Ont., who is currently Canada's leading trainer for money with $840,050 earned.
Ziegler Hanover (1:57, Race 3) and Mach Hula (1:55.2, Race 5) were driven to victory by Jason Brewer and Unleashed Fury (1:59.2, Race 6) scored in rein to Luc Ouellette giving Baillargeon a total of 47 wins so far in 2009. Baillargeon has recorded 1,275 wins in his career earning almost $17.5 million.
To view Saturday’s results, click here.
(With files from WEG)