WFR Feature To Elm Grove Ilse

Paul MacKenzie treated Elm Grove Ilse to a sweet trip in Tuesday’s $12,600 Fillies & Mares Preferred Pace at Western Fair Raceway, and the Rheal Bourgeois trainee didn’t let the golden opportunity go to waste

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The six-year-old daughter of Western Paradise vaulted off cover in the late stages of the mile and used a :29.3 closing kick to propel herself to a narrow victory in the featured event on the 12-race card.

Elm Grove Ilse got away sixth in the early stages of the mile, while Stonedust Cammy parked race favourite Topaz Seelster past the opening post in a snappy clip of :27.4 before releasing that foe to the lead. Topaz Seelster led the way by the mid-way point in :58.2, but she found herself engaged in battle with Grandma Dorothy at the three-quarter pole in 1:27.3.

Elm Grove Ilse was surveying the situation from second over at that point in the mile, and when MacKenzie called on her for sprinting speed she complied and gave him everything she had en route to winning by a quarter of a length over Grandma Dorothy in a time of 1:57.4. Sammy Syd closed from far back and wound up cracking the top three.

Bob Gordon of Elmsdale, PEI holds the ownership papers on Elm Grove Ilse, who went 3-for-40 and banked close to $52,000 during last year’s four-year-old campaign. To date, she has made 13 trips to victory lane and has hauled home close to $150,000 in lifetime earnings.

To view Tuesday’s results, click here.