Champagne Phil and Lexis D J posted impressive wins in Tuesday’s Preferred 2 features at Georgian Downs, and both performers were driven to victory by Bob McClure.
First up was Champagne Phil, who wired up seven foes in the $11,000 Preferred 2 for horses and geldings. McClure powered the gelding to the lead from Post 3 and they successfully led the field through fractions of :28, :56.2 and 1:24.4 before using a :28.1 closing quarter to seal the deal. He was two lengths better than Track Master D in 1:53. Santanna Blue Chip tagged along to finish third.
Sent off as the even-money favourite, the Dean Nixon-trained five-year-old son of Shanghai Phil-Champagne Gal improved his 2015 record to 8-3-2 from 19 starts with the win. ICR Racing of Pefferlaw, Ontario owns the 21-time winner who pushed his lifetime earnings to $270,578 in the process.
Lexis D J was treated to a two-hole trip by McClure in the $11,000 Preferred 2 for trotters, and the gelding parlayed his dreamy trip into a 1:56.2 triumph. The eight-year-old son of Amigo Hall-Lexus Lulu watched Order By Commander slice out splits of :29, :58.1 and 1:26.1 before rallying past that foe and drawing clear to win by 1-1/4 lengths over runner-up Buddy Hall. Kennel Buddy came on late to finish third.
Shane Arsenault of Waterdown, Ontario trains and owns the 36-time winner, who is 5-for-14 this season. He’s banked in excess of $32,000 this season and more than $412,000 to date.
To view results for Tuesday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Tuesday Results – Georgian Downs.