You Thrill Me Repeats In HPI Series
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The second round of the HorsePlayer Interactive Series pitted three first leg winners against one another on Friday night at Woodbine Racetrack with You Thrill Me emerging to score the double
. The second leg of the series was composed of three $30,000 divisions with D Gs Tinkerbell and Bay Girl joining You Thrill Me as round two champs.
In the first tilt, the Richard Moreau-trained D Gs Tinkerbell didn’t disappoint the betting public. Driven by Luc Ouellette, the 8-5 favourite lowered her lifetime mark by two full seconds to 1:53.
Cheap Motel (Mario Baillargeon) cut out fractions of :26.2, :55.3 and 1:24.1 before the backfield began to closed in on the tempo-setter. Down the stretch, Ouellette maneuvered D Gs Tinkerbell, who sat fourth for most of the mile, through traffic to score the half a length victory over first leg winner Do Me Honor (Doug McNair). Modern Cinderella (Rick Zeron) finished third.
“She’s got the speed and is able to go. Right now she is just green,” said Ouellette. “With an open bridle she is very relaxed. They will work on that. She is going to have to bring her A-game for the final.”
The four-year-old daughter of Cambest-Bolero Ultima, who captured the Blizzard Pacing Series final on January 27 at the Toronto oval, is owned by Daniel Surprenant and Guylaine Fortin of Saint-Valentin, Quebec. The win was D Gs Tinkerbell’s third of the season in five starts and ninth lifetime, which pushes her career earnings to $112,061.
D Gs Tinkerbell paid $5.20 to win.
Bay Girl, a five-year-old mare, clocked the fastest race of the three divisions with a 1:51.4 mile.
The Colin Johnson pupil took command of the field from Post 4 and hit the first quarter in :27.2, the half in :56, and the three-quarters in 1:23.2. Bay Girl and reinsman Paul MacDonell were able to turn back the 4-5 favourite, Jamaica Hanover (Jody Jamieson), who made an unsuccessful bid for the lead past the half. The daughter of Royal Mattjesty-Whitley Bay won by one and three-quarter lengths. Land Ds Taylor (Randy Waples) got up for second and Shine N Shimmer (Billy Davis Jr.) rounded out the triactor.
“Last week she got shuffled back a little bit too far and was out of the race early,” said MacDonell of Bay Girl's fifth-place showing in the opening round of the series. “We raced her more aggressively this week. When Jody came [first-up], it seemed like he didn’t have enough horse to get by her, so we just kept on going.”
Bay Girl has won two races in four seasonal starts. The 11-time career winnern boasts lifetime earnings of $495,381 for owner Michael Sergi of Canton, New York.
Bay Girl returned $10 to win as the 4-1 second choice.
Three divisional winners from last week’s first leg, Day To Ponder, You Thrill Me and Synergy Seelster, battled it out in the final division of the second leg with You Thrill Me scoring from off-the-pace.
The seven-year-old mare and driver Scott Zeron sat behind fractions of :27.2, :57.4 and 1:26.2, which were cut by Day To Ponder (Randy Waples). Using a :26.4 final quarter, You Thrill Me rallied from sixth to win by one length in 1:54 over the track downgraded to 'snowy'. Betterluvnexttime (Billy Davis Jr.) finished second and Day To Ponder faded to third.
“Dave [trainer David Menary] told me to make sure I have a helmet, stay glued to it and flip her off at the head of the lane and see what you can do,” said Zeron. “Last week the trip worked out perfect and this week the only thing I was worried about was the fractions, but in the end, she came through as the favourite.
“If she is just a little bit better I won’t be nervous at all next week,” he added. “I think she will prove me right.”
The daughter of Jate Lobell-Lady A is owned by Pennsylvania’s Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC. The 16-time career winner is three-for-three this season with $230,133 in lifetime earnings.
You Thrill Me paid $4 to win.
The $50,000 final, for mares four-year-old and older who are non-winners of $50,000 (three-year-olds $75,000) in 2011 (minimum 10 starts in 2011), is scheduled for Saturday, February 18.
The HorsePlayer Interactive Series, formerly the Ontario Girls Pacing Series, was renamed in 2011 after Canada’s premiere online and telephone wagering service.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Woobine Racetrack.
(With files from WEG)