Seeming to thrive on a trip that would cause most horses to wilt and finish with a whimper, Hugh Heff clearly relished being roughed up in his top class test on Saturday, Sept. 20 at Northside Downs.

The 1/4 choice on Saturday in the $1,700 Winners Over Pace started from post two, one spot to the outside of Thunder Alley. Gerard Kennedy sent the rail starter forward with front-end intentions, and post seven starter Red Rum She Wrote (Martin Bates) followed that foe from the second tier. What exactly did that mean for Hugh Heff and driver Randy Getto? A long, hard day at the proverbial office.

But if Hugh Heff has shown something since landing in Cape Breton, it's that the pacer doesn't mind grinding one out. And that's exactly how he got to the winner's circle on Saturday afternoon. After trading blows with Thunder Alley through fractions of :28.1, :57.4 and 1:27.4, Hugh Heff cleared that fading pacesetter but then faced the fresh threat of stablemate and last week's Winners Over winner, Dontblvmejustwatch (Mark Pezzarello). Both pilots went to the jets, summoning late reserves, with Hugh Heff finding enough in the tank to finish strongest and cross the line three parts of a length the best in a time of 1:57.3. Dontblvmejustwatch was second, with Red Rum She Wrote best of the rest in the show spot.

Dana Getto trains Hugh Heff, now a 44-time winner in his career with 12 of those wins coming from his 12-2-3 2025 campaign. Driver Randy Getto co-owns the five-year-old altered son of Betterthancheddar - Danika Patrix along with Susan MacSween of  River Ryan and Wayne Hardy of Sydney, N.S. The winner returned $2.80 to win.

Saturday's card also featured the eliminations for the 2025 Celtic Financial Series for non-winners of $2,500 in 2025 (as of Sept. 1, 2025) with a minimum of 10 starts and Winners Over starters ineligible. Both divisions were won in wire-to-wire fashion, and both divisions were timed in 2:00.4 to set up an intruiging final in one week's time.

Wenitrainsitpours ($4.00) delivered in the first elim for driver Mark Pezzarello and trainer Jamie Hogan, winning by four lengths over Spicysonofabeach (Kennedy), Bobjohnski (Carey Romeo) and Big Boy Hill (Redmond Doucet). Those four horses advance to the $3,500 final.

Dont Ask Logan ($3.60) dusted his rivals with Redmond Doucet at the lines by some seven lengths in the second elim, better than Sidekick (Romeo), Classic Smiley (Pezzarello) and Daddys Eyes (Larry Snow) to complete the Celtic Financial Series octet.

Ardon Mofford tripled on the afternoon to extend his lead in the local trainers' standings. Thanks for the exploits of Kraken Seelster (1:58.3; $6.80) in the second, Candid Cameron (2:01.2; $5.70) in the fifth and Wine N Cheddar (2:02.2; $11.40) in the finale, Mofford now sports 22 wins at Northside for the season, better than Dana Getto's 16 local scores.

Racing resumes next Saturday (Sept. 27) at Northside with the final and consolation of the Celtic Financial Series, plus a special match race between two of the top local pacing mares: Kiss Me Im Irish and Red Rum She Wrote. First post time is 1 p.m. (ADT).

To view the full results from Saturday's card of harness racing in Cape Breton, click the following link: Saturday Results - Northside Downs.

(Standardbred Canada)