Repeat Winners In Millbank; Fresh Faces Take Murphy Splits
Round two of the Mary Murphy Breeders Stakes and the Robert Millbank Memorial went postward on the Thursday program at Fraser Downs, and fans were treated to a little bit of everything in the four divisions.
Hurried Romance kicked things off for the three-year-old pacing fillies with a 1:55 triumph in her $15,000 division of the Mary Murphy Breeders Stake.
Trainer/driver Rod Therres guided her to the half-length score over Ynothos, with Glimpseofgoodness taking home third prize. Hurried Romance was one for the longshot players to appreciate as she erupted for the 21-1 stunner.
Therres shares ownership on the daughter of Dragon Again-Shes Just Rockin with Carol Ann Leeson and Blair Miller. It was the fourth win of the season – and the fifth to date – for the career winner of $75,678.
Marilyn took the other division in 1:56.1 for the team of driver Kevin Anderson and trainer Debra McCarthy.
Anderson hustled the daughter of Custard The Dragon-Lady Luvs Diamonds through panels of :27.4, :58.4 and 1:27.3 before using a :28.3 closing panel to win by a half-length margin over Nice Aint My Color in 1:56.1. Hanks Mystress was third.
It was the second win of the year for the five-time winner who upped her lifetime earnings to $46,523 with the victory. She is owned by Mark Anderson of Willows, CA.
Bettor Cat, who was a 1:55.3 winner in leg one of the Robert Millbank Memorial, made a round trip to victory lane thanks to his 1:56.4 score in Thursday’s second leg assignment.
Trainer/driver Jim Marino mapped out a perfect two-hole trip for the youngster, who popped out in the lane and drew clear to win by a pair of lengths over Kootenay Mystery in 1:56.4. Custards Dungeon rounded out the Trifecta ticket in the $15,000 affair.
Marino shares ownership on the homebred with J J J Stables of Prince George, BC. The lightly-raced rookie has banked more than $15,000 in his first three outings.
Rockin N Talkin gave Marino and the J J J Stables the sweep of the Millbank split thanks to his 1:57.1 triumph in the second division.
Again, it was a two-hole trip mapped out by trainer/driver Marino that played a big part in landing the rookie in the winner’s circle. The son of Custard The Dragon-Shes Just Rockin kicked home to win over Spiderdman and Major Winker.
The colt, who won last week’s division in 1:56, now owns a 2-1-0 record in his first three outings. His lifetime earnings climbed to $16,575 in the process.
Marino enjoyed an outstanding night thanks in large part to his stakes winners, but he added a pair of overnight scores with stablemates G Ts Jamie (1:57.1) and See You At Five (1:57.1) to bring his nightly win total to four.
Keys Please pulled off a 25-1 shocker in the $12,000 Fillies & Mares Open Pace winning in 1:55.4 for Preston Shaw and trainer Paul Urquhart. It was Awhimaway (60-1) grabbing the runner-up award, with third prize earned by JL Wonder Woman (7-2).
The four-year-old daughter of Mister Big-Whitskey improved her 2018 record to 4-2-0 from 14 starts with the win. The nine-time winner is a homebred owned by Simone Urquhart of Surrey, BC. The $6,000 payday boosted her bankroll to $131,180.
To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results – Fraser Downs.