Open To River Lass; Blue Star Beauty Debuts
Trainer-driver Kelly Hoerdt worked out a perfect pocket trip aboard River Lass to capture the $8,000 Fillies & Mares Open Pace featured on Sunday afternoon at Alberta
Downs.
River Lass and Hoerdt followed Doober Hoozzitz and trainer-driver John Chappell through fractions of :28.3, :58.4 and 1:27.1 before angling off the pylons and kicking away to a five and a half length victory. River Lass's 1:54.2 winning time was her fastest yet this season out of five victories and 10 starts. Itza Free For All and Jeff Stone finished second with Doober Hoozzitz back in third and the Jamie Gray-trained and driven Shoplifter Hanover rounding out the short field.
River Lass paid $7.60 to win. The five-year-old daughter of As Promised out of Brass Buttons notched her 21st lifetime victory and pushed her earnings to $275,446 for Hoerdt and co-owner Blair Corbeil of Beaumont, Alta.
Earlier in the day during qualifying action, the near perfect Blue Star Beauty, last season's Two-Year-Old Alberta Sired Filly of the Year, made her 2012 debut a winning one in 1:56.4 with Bill Tainsh Jr. aboard for trainer Doug Stout and owner Derek Stout. The As Promised-Whitesand Secret miss won six of seven races as a freshman and finished second in the Alberta Super Final in her only loss. She banked $87,925 and took a mark of 1:54.4 in ABSS action.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following links: