The popular five-year-old pacer Rock Me Amastreos rocked around Georgian Downs' five-eighths mile oval to capture the featured $15,000 Preferred event on Saturday night
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With the inside post advantage, Rock Me Amastreos and driver Kyle Balson took control of the eight-horse field right from the word 'go' and posted opening fractions of :28.1 and :58.1 over the off track before being put to pressure by last week's class champion. As the pacers passed the half-mile mark, Encore Seelster (Billy Davis Jr.) made his move from third and advanced up alongside the leader. Rock Me Amastreos kept him at bay as he dashed to the third quarter mark in 1:26.2 while the rest of the field trailed over seven lengths behind. Rock Me Amastreos drew clear around the final turn and sprinted away to record his first victory of the year in 1:55.1. Encore Seelster finished six and a half lengths behind in second while Redford Hall (Paul MacKenzie) rounded out the top three.
Rock Me Amastreos paid $4.90 to win as the 7-5 favourite. Fresh off a $70,000 four-year-old campaign, the son of Astreos out of Queens Arms now sports a record reading 13-5-8 in 61 career starts with a bankroll totalling $148,620. He is trained by Arthur Balson for owner-breeder David Snowden of Bowmanville, Ont.
Although Billy Davis Jr. had to settled for second in the feature event, he proved to be a dominant driving force throughout the 12-race card. The resident of Cambridge, Ont. reined home five winners including The Deputy Is Home ($4.30) for trainer Kevin McMaster, Hope For Paddy ($2.60) for Shawn Robinson, Michelles Idea ($4.60) for Ian Reid, and a pair of Chris Fuller trainees, Low Dress ($6.70) and Torrent Seelster ($4.10).
Fresh off a career-best 2011 season in which he won 404 races and earned over $2.7 million in purses, Davis Jr. has already won 16 races while banking over $115,000 just seven days into the New Year.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Georgian Downs.