Neither rain, nor snow, nor gloom of night kept Steve Oldford from his mission of winning the $9,200 Great Lakes Amateur Drivers Association (GLADA) Trot with Pepin Coolie at Northfield Park on a snowy Saturday night (Nov. 27).

In a race which saw lots of early action, Oldford bided his time before going three deep and on to a 2:01.4 victory as the snow kept falling.

Sent the soft favourite from the three-hole, Oldford hugged the pylons in the early going and was in third position when Larry Ferrari and Go Go George led the field by the quarter in :31.1 with Mesmerised was caught on the rim.

Ferrari showed the way as Merriman rushed his trotter alongside the leader. They then raced one-two by the half in 1:02.3 as Oldford was desperately looking for racing room, which he found when he wheeled his trotter three deep and then took command as the field rounded the final turn. At that point, Mesmerized tired, which left Go Go George as the one to beat. In the lane, Pepin Coolie rallied and collared Ferrari's trotter and went on to a head win over Go Go George as the timer flashed 2:01.4. Eddie Miller garnered the show dough with Crime Fighter.

"I just recently purchased Pepin Coolie and I was delighted how easy he was to drive and how well he raced," Oldford said, and then added "Pepin Coolie was an Amish horse who pulled a buggy to church on Sundays."

Pepin Coolie is owned by Oldford Racing and trained by Ethan Sisco. He paid $6.20 for win.

(GLADA)