Overlooked at odds of 13-1, Fast Lane Delila went wire-to-wire to win the The Delta Final for three-year-old pacing fillies during Fraser Downs’ third annual ‘Harness The Hope’ night in support of Breast Cancer Research

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Trainer, driver and co-owner Rod Therres fired Fast Lane Delila out of Post 4 and laid down fractions of :27, :56.1, and 1:25 en route to a life’s-best 1:55.2 victory by one and a half length. The 1-5 favourite, Mystic Maiden (David Hudon), who came into the race undefeated in seven starts, applied pressure though the middle intervals but eventually faded to fourth as Estrella Roja (James Jungquist) and Dealingwithhos (Michael Hennessy) came on for second and third.

Fast Lane Delila won five of her nine races earning $24,900 at two and set the 1:55.4 track record for freshmen fillies, but after her early wins Therres says the daughter of Camcracker-Lindwood Delila was struck with an illness that she couldn’t shake.

“She got sick and I couldn’t get her healthy,” said Therres in a post-race interview. “She wouldn’t eat so I really didn’t know how she was going to come back as a three-year-old because you if race them a little sick sometimes you just don’t know, but she was for real tonight.”

The win was her first of the season in two outings and the lion’s share of the $25,000 purse bumped her lifetime earnings to $37,888 for Therres and co-owner Charles Macfarlane of Victoria, B.C.

While the Justin Currie-trained Mystic Maiden failed to hit the board, Currie still managed a productive night sending out three winners during the 11-race program. Currie pupils Hendry (Jeff Stone, 1:57.1) and Allamerican Crush (Jim Marino, 1:56.2) swept the early Daily Double while Know Your Limit (Barrie Treen, 1:55.1) prevailed in the fifth race. The resident of Langley B.C. now sports 14 wins on the year and 52 lifetime.

Tying in with the ‘Harness The Hope’ theme, seven young ladies with various harness racing backgrounds locally volunteered to drive in a non-wagering feature, the 2010 Powder Puff Derby, following the eighth live race earlier on the evening’s card. Amber Lancaster (on the left in the accompanying photo with the green and white silks), from the Ray Gemmill stable, claimed the Powder Puff Derby title when her charge, Cheyenne Dusk, nipped the pacesetter, Ignite The Spark and Alivia Gogush, at the wire in 2:00.4.

In alphabetical order, the 2010 Powder Puff Derby drivers included Donna Cunningham (Ed Hensley stable), Alivia Gogush (Justin Currie stable; trains two of her own horses), Dana Lawrence (Red Star Stables), Amber Lancaster (Ray Gemmill stable), Alana Main (former trainer; works for track in the paddock), Kayla Mills (Wayne Isbister stable; trains two of her own horses) and Cherie Paskaruk (Grant Hollingsworth stable; part-owner).

To view Saturday’s results, click here.

(With files from Fraser Downs)