Its A Good Thing stepped up in class to the Preferred level on Thursday following a victory against easier company at Rideau Carleton Raceway one week ago, and the class hike didn’t bother the pacer one iota

as he scored a 13-1 upset in the $13,000 feature race.

Trainer/driver Gary McDonald hustled the five-year-old son of Western Maverick into the two-hole while Bolero Charles supplied the field with panels of :27, :56.2 and 1:25. McDonald called on Its a Good Thing to go into sprint mode in the stretch, and the gelding complied with a :28.3 final frame en route to the 1-1/2 lengths decision over Bolero Charles in 1:53.4. Montreal Phil tagged along to finish third.

McDonald shares ownership on the 18-time winner with Suzanne McDonald of Edwards, ON, and together they’ve watched the pacer bank close to $60,000 this season. Thursday’s victory pushed the veteran over $200,000 in lifetime earnings.

The victory was one of three training wins on the card for Gary McDonald. He also scored with Pumped And Glidin (1:57.3) and J V S Ring (1:57.4).

Sebastien Giroux also notched a training hat trick thanks to triumphs with Search Mission (2:00.3), L H Remachable (1:55.4) and CMR Maybe Loaded (1:56).

Driver John MacDonald celebrated a five-win performance on the 15-race card. He took the checkered flag with Shark Watch (1:54.4), Clic K (1:56), Chasin Racin (1:53), Pumped And Glidin (1:57.3) and J V S Ring (1:57.4).

To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results – Rideau Carleton Raceway.