Guy Gagnon needed two training victories to reach 2,000 career wins on Wednesday, Oct. 8 at Rideau Carleton Raceway, and he completed the double in the finale to attain the milestone.

His first win of the night came with Beach Journey ($4.90) in the seventh race. He sent the nine-year-old mare onto second-over cover on the backstretch, and she circled three-wide to the front on the last turn before hanging on by a head over the hard-charging My Midnight Lover (Robert Shepherd) to win in 1:54.4. The mare, a 57-time winner, has raced for Gagnon since 2022.

After finishing second in the eighth race, Gagnon sent out Smokestack in the finale. He slotted him in fourth early before sending him on a long brush to the lead in the third quarter, and Smokestack soared clear of his opponents once in front to win by 3-1/2 lengths in 1:53.4.

Gagnon reached the 2,000-win plateau in 9,059 starts. The Gatineau, Que.-based horseman had his best training season last year, when he won 100 races for the first time, and he has recorded career earnings of $10.9 million This year, his trainees are 79-for-240 for a win rate of 33 per cent. Gagnon has been one of the most successful drivers and trainers at Rideau Carleton over the last two decades and is closing in on his ninth consecutive driving title at the Ottawa, Ont.-area track.

Rose Run Why Not and Tyrone Bow Tie provided a nail-biting stretch battle in the $10,000 Preferred Handicap Trot, and the battle resulted in a deadlock at the line. Raising Rusty (Stephane Pouliot) led early, with Rose Run Why Not (Pascal Berube) pocketed-up and Tyrone Bow Tie (Gagnon) third in the four-horse field through :28.4 and :59 fractions.

Tyrone Bow Tie, the odds-on favourite, was first off the pylons turning for the backstretch and went to war with the pacesetter through three-quarters in 1:27.2, with Rose Run Why Not lying in wait. She swung outside coming off the final turn and straightened for home with a head of steam while Tyrone Bow Tie clawed to the front. Rose Run Why Not then charged after the new leader and reached the line with him in unison for a dead heat in 1:56.1. Raising Rusty was third, beaten three-quarters of a length.

Tyrone Bow Tie ($2.10) took his fourth consecutive Preferred victory and improved to 11-for-27 on the year, with 10 wins coming in the top class at Rideau. Mike Armstrong trains the five-year-old for Rachel Burns, Wade Tousignant, and Philip Tousignant of Cardinal, Ont. The son of Lookslikeachpndale-Risk Seeker is 15-for-56 lifetime with $129,441 in earnings.

Rose Run Why Not ($2.60), trained by Carl Duguay, won for the fourth time this season in 21 outings. The seven-year-old daughter of Uncle Peter-Loconotion races for Investissement KFB of Sorel-Tracy, Que. and Duguay, a resident of Trois-Rivieres, Que. She has racked up 21 wins and $179,506 in earnings from 128 lifetime attempts.

To view Wednesday's harness racing results, click the following link: Wednesday Results - Rideau Carleton Raceway.

(Standardbred Canada)