P L Oliver was caught on the outside for the opening panel, revved up his engine to take command of the field and lead through two more panels, and continued to triumph over a blanket finish at the wire to win the $11,000 Preferred Pace at The Raceway at the Western Fair District on Monday, Jan. 29.
After getting parked out past the first quarter in :28.4, Colin Kelly and P L Oliver held onto the control of the timer from the inside along the pylons. With two more panels in :59.2 and 1:28.1, P L Oliver maintained a steady lead over his field of challengers. Heza Handy Man (Michael Horner) popped the pocket through the third quarter panel, followed by Ideal Perception (Anthony Haughan). The chase towards the leader turned into a three-wide brawl to the wire. As the three approached the light across the track, P L Oliver stuck his neck out to win in 1:58. Heza Handy Man took second and Ideal Perception rounded out the top three.
Matthew Dupuis trains and owns the six-year-old gelded son of Sportswriter-P L Gotcha. He earned his first win in three starts this season and his 18th career tally from 106 starts. Pocketing the $5,500 prize, P L Oliver pushed his career earnings to new heights at $202,506.
Designated the 2-1 bettors' choice in the mile, P L Oliver returned $6.70 to his backers.
To view Monday's harness racing results, click the following link: Monday Results - The Raceway at the Western Fair District.
(Standardbred Canada)