The Raceway at Western Fair District kicked off its 2025-2026 harness racing meet on Friday, Oct. 3 with a 10-race card featuring four $20,000 finals of the Prospect Series for Ontario-sired three-year-olds. 

Stmikes Kerryblues ($2.40) completed a perfect Prospect Series campaign, rallying three-wide from third to take command with a quarter-mile to go and drawing off by four lengths at the end of the 1:57.3 mile in the final for male trotters. Damian MacLellan worked out the winning trip for the 1-5 favourite, defeating Massedonia (Brett MacDonald) and Muskie Man (Ondrej Gois).

Trained by Kyle Fellows, the Green Manalishi S-Wilsonator gelding won eight preliminary legs at Kawartha Downs, Dresden Raceway, Hanover Raceway, Grand River Raceway, Clinton Raceway, Georgian Downs, Hiawatha Horse Park and Flamboro Downs. The well-travelled championship winner, now 10-for-17 overall this year with earnings of $51,770, is owned by Ontario's Yolanda Fellows of Rockwood, Edward Wilson of Seagrave, Steve McGill of Bewdley and Patrick Dillon of Port Hope. 

A winner of all three preliminary legs he competed in, The Magic Moment ($2.10) also remained perfect in Prospect Series action and capped off a training triple for Francis Guillemette on the meet-opening card with a 1:56.2 triumph in the final for male pacers. Driven by Garrett Rooney, the 1-9 favourite re-took the lead from Winchester Phoenix (Samuel Fillion) after the opening quarter then held off that rival by a head at the end, with Thai Tour (Brett MacDonald) getting the nod in a show photo over Lucky Dancer (Daryl Thiessen).

The Control The Moment-Wind River Cat gelding, who was also crowned the Trophee des Eleveurs Series champion in Quebec, has won five races in a row and nine of 12 on the year for breeder Gestion A&A Belanger Inc. and co-owner Cynthia Cote Dupont, both of Shawinigan, Que.

Dont Chang My Naam ($5.80) turned back all challengers in a two minute mile to win the final for trotting fillies in rein to Bruce Richardson. Owned by trainer John Holding and Morley Bosomworth, the Green Manalishi S-Marabou miss won by 1-1/2 lengths over Marie H (Damian MacLellan) and Tricky Trish (Samuel Fillion). She had teamed up with Richardson for a 1:58.2 career-best victory in the July 14 preliminary leg at Grand River and was third in two others.

There was a dead heat in the final for pacing fillies after a pair traded leads in the first quarter then duked it out in the last quarter. Lydia Go ($8), driven by Austin Sorrie, and Expresso Beans ($21.60), with Brett MacDonald in the sulky, hit the wire together in 1:56.3. Twin B Bodacious (David Edwards) rounded out the top three two lengths behind. Joseph MacIsaac trains Lydia Go, a daughter of Dancin Lou-One Over Par who was a winner in the first Prospect leg at Western Fair back on May 16 and was coming off a career-best 1:55.2 victory in the Sept. 19 leg at Grand River, for owners Peter Smith, Gerald Morrissey and Robert Boyce. A Prospect winner on July 5 at Hanover, Expresso Beans is co-owned by MacDonald and trained by his father Ron, with Brent MacLennan and Shen Guo partners on the McWicked-Express Writer filly.

Western Fair will host the two-year-old Prospect Series finals on Tuesday, Oct. 7.

Live harness racing will be held three nights a week this fall at the London, Ont. half-mile oval, every Monday, Tuesday and Friday at 5:50 p.m.

To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Western Fair Raceway.

(Standardbred Canada; photo of Stmikes Kerryblues winning on Oct. 3)