The betting public didn’t have a whole lot of faith in Emerald Lexus in Tuesday’s $11,600 Horses & Geldings Preferred 2 at The Raceway at Western Fair District, but driver Travis Henry sure did.
Henry found himself parked and in the flow with Emerald Lexus as the field zipped past the quarter pole, but that duo eventually worked to the front and proceeded to chop out middle splits of :57.2 and 1:26.4 over a track rated ‘good’ with a four-second variant. A :30.3 closing quarter was more than enough for Emerald Lexus, who drew clear to win by three lengths over For A Bettor Time in 1:57.2. Taking home the show dough was Stoney Durkin.
Owned and trained by Patrick Shepherd of Lynden, Ontario, the nine-year-old son of Astreos-Aloha Marie won for the 19th time in his career. The lion’s share of the loot lifted his lifetime bankroll to $145,083. He paid $40.20.
Tuesday’s undercard featured a set of $7,000 Horses & Geldings Preferred 3 events, with Keaton and Monster In Law winning their respective assignments.
Keaton made a bold move at the mid-way point of the mile in his effort, and he went on to win by 11-1/4 lengths over race favourite Leafs And Wings in 1:58.2. Taking home third prize was Oldfriendskentucky.
Trevor Henry mapped out the winning trip for the eight-year-old son of Artesian-Twin Turbo, who is owned and trained by George Robinson of Windsor, Ontario. It was the second win of the year in as many tries for the 28-time winner who pushed his career earnings to $108,544 with the victory.
Monster In Law went home empty-handed in back-to-back starts before eking out a nose decision in his Tuesday evening tilt. Trevor Henry rolled the veteran to the lead from Post 7 and after slicing out fractions of :29.3, 1:00.2 and 1:30 the Don Beatson trainee used a :30-second kicker to post the narrow win over Pacific Oak in 2:00. Goldstar Badlands was third.
Sent off at odds of 28-1, Monster In Law racked up the 37th win of his career for Beatson and partners Ken Beatson of Palgrave and Sandra & Ralph Pitt of Cargill, Ontario. The charismatic campaigner has earned more than $430,000 to date.
To view results for Tuesday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Tuesday Results – The Raceway at Western Fair District.