Sterling Cooper returned to his winning form that he displayed 13 times last year, scoring his first win of 2017 in the $11,000 Open Pace on Sunday afternoon (January 15) for Fraser Downs' red-hot reinsman Dave Hudon.
Hudon steered the all-age track record holder gate-to-wire, with the favoured Illwinifican (Scott Knight) coming up a neck short in his pocket-pulling quest for the win. Forging to the lead between early leavers from post three, Sterling Cooper fronted the field of six through panels of :27.2, :56.3 and 1:24.2 en route to the 1:53 triumph. Buddy Weiser (Rod Therres) followed almost seven lengths behind the top pair in third, finishing just ahead of Sabine Pass (Paul Davies), who had advanced first-over.
Sent postward as the 3-1 third choice in the wagering, Sterling Cooper returned $8.30 to win.
The Camluck gelding, now nine years old, is trained by Brandon Campbell for local owner Jeffrey Elchuk. He earned his 45th career win and boosted his bankroll to $293,923.
The win was one of four on the day for Hudon, who was also victorious with his own trainees Real Kid ($4.70), Astronomical Storm ($11.20) and Procrastinatinpeat ($8.40).
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Fraser Downs.