D Gs Tinkerbell and Firstclassprincess basked in the spotlight as they were crowned winners of the Lifetime Dream Trotting Series and the Blizzard Pacing Series on Friday night at Woodbine Racetrack
. Both series finals had been postponed from Monday's cancelled program.
D Gs Tinkerbell edged out the lone sophomore in the field and the fan favourite to win the $50,000 Blizzard Series Final for three and four-year-old fillies and mares that are non-winners of two races or $20,000 lifetime as of Oct. 31, 2011.
The popular Bee Fullof Steinam (Paul MacDonell) fired to command from Post 7 and put up early fractions of :27.3 and :57.3 before driver Luc Ouellette sent D Gs Tinkerbell first up from fifth.
D Gs Tinkerbell moved into second and applied pressure to Bee Fullof Steinam as they approached the 1:25.4 third quarter mark.
The leader eventually caved as D Gs Tinkerbell pushed ahead in deep stretch while the pocket-sitting three-year-old filly, The Summer Wind (Scott Zeron), went wide after failing to find room at the pylons. D Gs Tinkerbell prevailed by one and a half lengths in 1:55 flat over the 'good' surface.
The winner paid $6.70 as the second choice in the 10-horse field. D Gs Tinkerbell is now two-for-three on the year. She won her first leg division of the Blizzard Series and finished a close second in round two.
“She is versatile. She could stand having her nose out the second half," commented Ouellette. “We changed little pieces of equipment like adding pull-out earplugs. We wanted her a little more on her toes, thinking the competition may get a little stiffer. They are going to keep playing a little bit with the equipment, maybe close her up as I was working hard to have her under orders.”
Last December's Niagara Stakes runner-up now sports a career record reading 8-6-2 in 17 starts and boasts a bankroll totalling $94,661. Trainer Guylaine Fortin co-owns the four-year-old Cambest-Bolero Ultima mare with fellow Saint-Valentin, Que. resident Daniel Surprenant.
Firstclassprincess proved to be at the top of her class as she cruised to victory in the $75,000 Lifetime Dream Trotting Series Final. The series is for four and five-year-old mares that are non-winners of $200,000 lifetime as of Oct. 31, 2011.
When the wings of the gate closed, four fillies vied for early position on top with Maple Leaf Spirit (Chris Christoforou) eventually clearing to command at the :28.2 opening quarter ahead of Maplegrove Shaelyn (Mike Saftic), Firstclassprincess, and Lively (Rick Zeron).
Driver Jody Jamieson sent Firstclassprincess first up as they straightened up down the backstretch and took over the leading role at the :58.2 half-mile mark. The second choice filly proceeded to led the field of 10 to the third quarter station in 1:28 while the popular first leg winner Sashay (Sylvain Filion) advanced from fifth.
As the fillies entered the final turn, Sashay dropped into the gapping two-hole. She later re-emerged from the pocket in the stretch, but Firstclassprincess remained strong on the lead as she sauntered home for the three length score in 1:58.1. Sashay settled for second while Nordic De Vie (Randy Waples) rallied home off cover for third.
Firstclassprincess paid $7.80 to win for the first time this year. She hit the board in her two prior 2012 starts in the Lifetime Dream Series.
“When I drove this horse in the first leg of the series, I got to the lead in the stretch kind of like tonight, but she let a couple of horses get by her,” said Jamieson. “The second leg, [driver] Brett [Miller] mentioned to [trainer Ron] Burke that maybe if she could see a little more then she might fight them off, so they poked holes in her blinds and she was a different horse.
“I really didn’t want to put her back on the front. I just thought she was better chasing, but when I got to the lead she was strong. Around the last turn, one was chasing her and at the head of the stretch came out wide off my wheel and she just dug right in and was gone.”
With the victory, the four-year-old mare improved her lifetime record to 6-9-7 in 30 outings and boosted her earnings to $234,715. Burke trains the daughter of Classic Photo out of Princess Pan for owner Michael Andrew of Gorham, Maine.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Racetrack.
(With quotes from WEG)