Richard Moreau had a pair of reasons to celebrate on Saturday night (January 28). Right around the time he was taking the stage to accept his fourth consecutive Trainer of the Year title at the O’Brien Awards, a new recruit to his operation, Fine Diamond, got up and defeated some of the finest competitors on the WEG circuit in Woodbine Racetrack’s $34,000 Preferred Pace.
Fresh in from the stable of heavyweight trainer Ron Burke, Fine Diamond, a four-year-old son of Rock N Roll Heaven, lined up in Post 3 for the Preferred, which was called to the starter for the ninth race of the evening.
A field of six slugged it out in the Preferred, and Fine Diamond, with pilot Doug McNair in the race bike, opted to take a cautious approach through the first three quarters of the mile.
McNair and the six-time career winner watched from fourth as Company Man (driven by Jody Jamieson) dictated the terms of the bout through fractions of :27, :54.2 and 1:22.1.
Fine Diamond was almost five lengths off the engine before he made his move, but when he did, those that were observing the affair began to take notice.
McNair reduced his deficit quite a bit by the head of the lane, as he was just one and a quarter length behind Company Man, who was feeling the effects of his front-end journey.
After having been positioned third throughout the mile, Nickel Bag made a solid bid for the win in the final quarter for pilot Trevor Henry.
It was all Fine Diamond and Nickel Bag in the final eighth, but it was Fine Diamond, Doug McNair and ‘Team Moreau’ that got the job done, as they fought for a nose win in 1:50.4.
On January 16, Fine Diamond became the property of new owners 9099 3833 Quebec Inc., and Gaar Racing Stables, of North York, Ontario. Saturday’s victory was the first start for his new connections.
Pilot Trevor Henry had yet another productive night at the office, as he won four consecutive races (Race 2 through Race 5) with Withahearttomatch ($13.30), Mach Code ($24.70), The Wayfaring Man ($4.10) and Carracci Hanover ($19.40), respectively.
To view the harness racing results for Saturday at Woodbine, click the following link: Saturday Results – Woodbine Racetrack.