Driver Phil Giesbrecht and trainer Jim Marino teamed up for a clean sweep of the first leg of the B.C. Breeders Stakes for three-year-olds at Fraser Downs on Thursday night, Nov. 14.

There were four $15,000 divisions in the first leg and the red-hot duo won them all. 

Defending filly champion Over Ice won the first of two Mary Murphy Memorial divisions in her return to B.C., leading unopposed through fractions of :27.4, :58.2 and 1:27.2 then cruising home a 1:55.3 winner with pocket-pursuer Catchmegracefully (Glenn White) finishing 1-1/2 lengths behind the 1-5 favourite in second and Cambridge Duchess (David Hudon) back in third.

Over Ice, who was undefeated in the B.C. Breeders Stakes as a two-year-old and set a divisional track record in the championship, is owned and bred by J J J Stables of Prince George, B.C. The Custard The Dragon-Arm In Arm filly started her sophomore season with a runner-up finish in the Penny Bath Memorial at Fraser Downs before an Alberta stakes stint. She now sports a career record reading 8-4-5 from 19 starts with earnings totalling $174,813. 

The other three stakes winners are also owned by J J J Stables, in partnership with Marino and Paul Sanders of Surrey, B.C.

The second filly division went to Senorita Draco, the 9-5 second choice, who left the gate swinging but settled into the pocket through panels of :27, :56.4 and 1:25.3 before sweeping by the favoured front-runner, Great Emotion (Allan Molloy), off the final turn. The Custard The Dragon-Mrs Noce filly drew off to a three-length victory in a new lifetime mark of 1:55.1. Martini Please (Rod Therres) followed in third. 

After going winless in five races as a rookie, Senorita Draco now has five wins through 15 sophomore starts with earnings up to $57,375.

Phone Nine One One was the fastest division winner, taking the first of two Robert Murphy Memorial splits for the colts and geldings in a career-best 1:54.2. Phone Nine One One, the 5-2 third choice, followed in fourth early on while Nothininmoderation (David Hudon) and favourite Outlawstaythcourse (John Abbott) traded turns on the lead through opening panels of :27.1 and :56.1. After tracking the cover of defending champion Buddy Knocks (Scott Knight) down the backstretch as three-quarters went in 1:25.3, Phone Nine One One rallied past the leaders, winning by three-quarters of a length. Oulawstaythcourse settled for second with Nothininmoderation third over Buddy Knocks.

Another winner sired by Custard The Dragon, Phone Nine One One is out of the stakes-winning mare Phone Terror. The gelding, who was a runner-up four times in five starts in the B.C. Breeders Stakes as a rookie, has earned four wins this year from 21 races and increased his bankroll to $68,492.

In the final division for the colts and geldings, Giesbrecht made the winning move down the backstretch from mid-pack with Wannabeabigstar and the 2-5 favourite kicked home in :27.3 to defeat Nothing Bugs Me (Rod Therres), who had led through fractions of :28, :58.1 and 1:25.4. The winning time was 1:55 flat and the margin was a length. Thereallkents (David Hudon) finished back in third off a pocket trip.

Wannabeabigstar, whose four races as a rookie include a pair of wins in the B.C. Breeders Stakes, has added two more victories in stakes action through his first eight sophomore starts. The Shadow Play-Greek Beach gelding now has $32,005 in the bank.

The stakes sweep was part of a five-race win streak for Marino, who also sent out his own mare Heart Of Dragon to a 17-1 upset in a preceding conditioned claiming race with Scott Knight in the sulky. Giesbrecht also had a five-win night, with his other catch-driving victory in rein to the Rebecca Kanak trainee Tina La Vida to open the 10-race card.

Giesbrecht and Marino narrowly missed in the final race of the night, the $10,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred Pace, with Arrhythmic Dream leading the way, but 6-1 shot Ima Beach Diva collared the favourite at the wire in a career-best 1:53.3 for driver Allan Molloy and trainer Kelly Hoerdt. The Meadowlark Farms homebred, a four-year-old daughter of Sunshine Beach and Divas Dragonfly, is now a 10-time winner in her career.

The second leg of the B.C. Breeders Stakes is scheduled for next Thursday, Nov. 21 with the $100,000 finals on Thursday, Nov. 28.

 To view Thursday's harness racing results, click the following link: Thursday Results - Fraser Downs.

(Standardbred Canada; Photo of Over Ice)