Steacy Captures The Coville Cup

Up-and-coming driver Clarke Steacy engineered three winning drives en route to capturing the Coville Cup during Rideau Carleton Raceway’s fifth annual Night of Champions Sunday.

The drivers tournament was contested over 15 races showcasing young reinsmen who are trying to further their driving careers but have yet to steer an abundance of horses.

Steacy, the son of veteran horseman Mark Steacy, kept the Coville Cup in the family as his older brother Shawn finished in a dead-heat with Jonathan Lachance for the win in the 2008 edition.

In this year's tournament, the 22-year-old Lansdowne, Ont. resident won his first drive of the night in the second race as he sent new Brenda Spence trainee Delightfull Grin ($3.50) down the road to win by over two lengths in 1:59 over the track rated 'good'.

Steacy returned to the winner's circle after angling Mcartlee ($13.70) three-wide at the third quarter mark in the eighth race and coming on to win by more than one length in 1:55.1 for trainer Brad Barr.

"He was real classy for me," noted Steacy in a post-race interview. "Brad told me he couldn't leave much and he didn't need to tonight. I knew once I tipped him off Matt Bax's helmet he'd put in a good bid for me. He really kicked into another gear for me.

"He got himself on a line a little bit, but a lot of the older horses that race in these claimers do. They race through a lot. When I got him into the stretch he bore out a little bit on me, but he went forward the whole way."

Steacy earned his final win after advancing to the semi-finals. The top nine point earners in the first nine races moved on to compete in the final three dashes in pursuit of the Coville Cup. Steacy won the 13th race off a pocket trip with Bjs Braveheart ($24.20) in 1:58.3 for trainer Michel Plouffe.

"I'm having one of those nights tonight," said Steacy after the win. "It seems like everything is just working out for me. I probably shouldn't have gotten the job done off that trip -- I tipped a little bit early -- but [Michel] told me not to grab up on him and he kept going."

Steacy also earned a pair of second place finishes with trotter Seagram and Romeo Knows Best, both conditioned by Serge Guilbault, and was fifth with the David Burgess-trained Miss Bami in his other drives on the card.

"It was a lot of fun," said the Coville Cup winner during the trophy presentation. "It was a great layout the way they did it this year with the six-horse fields too. It gave everybody a chance to get a feel for things first before you get to the bigger fields."

In three years of driving, Steacy has compiled a record reading 10-8-8 in 72 starts. Seven of those wins were earned this year, along with the majority of his $59,880 purse earnings.

Lee Ibey, Matthew McDonald, and Matthew Bax fashioned driving doubles on the card while James Hay, Maxim Robinson Desjardins, Sebastien Turenne, James Bailey, Daniel St. Pierre, and Steven Leroux also earned victories.

To view Sunday’s harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results – Rideau Carleton Raceway.