Three divisions of the Blizzard Series went postward Thursday evening at Woodbine Racetrack, with three-year-old fillies and four-year-old mares looking to make a final push for a spot in next week’s final.
Bettim Jenny pulled off a stunning upset in her $16,000 division for the tandem of driver Roger Mayotte and trainer Jeff Lilley. The homebred followed cover in the middle stages of the mile before catapulting off cover and using a :29.4 closing panel to post the 22-1 upset over Mappos Moenhay in 1:56.3. Third prize went to race favourite Wildcat Magic.
Lilley co-owns the four-year-old daughter of Largo-Bettim Amanda with partner Danny Purcell of Newport, Nova Scotia. Together, they’ve watched the mare assemble a 5-for-35 lifetime record while racking up more than $32,000 in purse money. The 1:56.3 clocking was a personal best for the distaffer.
Deuces For Charity marched to the front and didn’t look back for driver Paul MacDonell, who guided the mare to a 1:55.3 victory. She sliced out splits of :28, :56.2 and 1:25.1 before using a :30.2 closing quarter to seal the deal. P L Hurricane was second best, with race favourite Onyourmarknatava settling for the show dough.
Kelly Goodwin of Fowlerville, Michigan owns and trains the four-year-old daughter of Armbro Deuce-Chat On Line. It was her first win of the year and the fourth of her career. Her share of the purse bumped her lifetime earnings to $34,550.
Artistic Fusion brushed to the front in the backstretch and went on to post a dominant victory in the final division for the duo of driver Sylvain Filion and Joe Agostino. Filion brushed the 2-5 favourite to the lead and proceeded to carve out middle fractions of :57.4 and 1:26.3 before stepping home in :28.4 to post the 1:55.2 victory. A Fearless Affair was next best, with Badlands Love taking home third prize.
Mike Foote of Venice, Florida owns the four-year-old daughter of Artistic Fella-Kendal Bullet, who was a 1:56.1 winner in last week’s first leg of the series. The victory was the second of the season for the eight-time winner. She now boasts a career bankroll of $86,577.
To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results – Woodbine Racetrack.