A quartet of Maritime Breeders Stakes eliminations were contested on Sunday (October 15) over Truro Raceway in Nova Scotia, as two-year-old pacers of both sexes and gaits skirmished in their respective $5,000 tilts.
After having been hammered down to ten cents on the dollar, the Tom Weatherbie-trained and Mark Bradley-driven Half Cut ($2.20) captured the first of the eliminations for the colts and geldings (Race 10) via a 1:58.1 mile.
The gelded son of Stonebridge Terror left from Post 3, cut all the fractions (:28.3, :58.4, 1:28.3) and went on to post a one and three-quarter-length margin of victory. Red Dirt Rebel (driven by Todd Trites) raced second and finished second. Rockin Party (Danny Romo) raced third and finished third.
Half Cut is owned by Prince Edward Island residents Kyle Gardiner (of Cardiga), Joseph Gardiner (Mount Stewart), Michael Currie (Cardigan) and Jerry Mackinnon (St. Peters Bay). The gelding has now won seven of his 11 starts and has banked over $33,000.
The biggest upset of the Maritime Breeders eliminations came in the second of the elims for the males (Race 12), as the Gilles Barrieau-trained and driven Tangled Mind ($20.10), who was racing at the longest odds in the field, threw a dominant effort at his rivals and stopped the clock in 1:58.2.
After having lined up in Post 5, Tangled Mind, by Pang Shui, went to the front, cut all the fractions (:28.3, :59.2, 1:29) and held on for a neck victory. JJ Powerball (Gordon Hennessey), who had come first-up from third, just finished second, while Woodmere Ideal Art (Jason Hughes), who had rode the pocket from the rail, finished third.
The win was the second of Tangled Mind’s 11-race career. He is owned by Alfred Barrieau (Dieppe, NB) and Michael Clinton (Saint John, NB).
It was the fillies that had gotten Sunday’s Maritime Breeders action underway first, and it was the public’s choice, the 1-10 Royaltywestho ($2.20), that came through on her pari-mutuel promise and delivered a 1:59.4 win for trainer Joe Baxter and driver Walter Cheverie in Race 6.
The Westerwardho Hanover filly started from Post 3 and was third to the :29 opening quarter. She came first-up in the second panel and raced overland through the middle half, which saw the pace cut in 1:00.1 and 1:30.1. She was in second by the time the field hit the head of the lane, but she persevered through the stretch and got up to record a two-length win. Tobins Terror (Gary Chappell) finished second off of a second-over trip. The pacesetter, Elm Grove Mistress (Earl Smith), held on for third.
Royaltywestho’s trainer, Joe Baxter (Windsor, NS), co-owns the filly along with fellow Windsor resident Gregory Francis. Royaltywestho has now won six of her nine seasonal starts and has only finished off the board once. Her win on Sunday pushed her earnings over the $30,000 mark.
The second of the filly eliminations (Race 8) was captured by Clare MacDonald-trained and driven Woodmere Ceilidh ($4.40), who was sent postward as the even-money second choice and recorded a victory from Post 4 in 2:00.1.
The Articulator filly had sat third through the opening quarter (:30) and half (1:01.1) before she was pulled first-up in the third quarter. Woodmere Ceilidh was overland and challenging from third at the 1:31.2 three-quarters call, and went on to get up in the lane and post a one and a quarter-length victory at the wire. Scarlet Desire (Marc Campbell), who had started from Post 1 and had cut all of the fractions, finished second. Cherry Pop (Darren Crowe), who had closed from the back of the pack, got up to finish third.
Chris Neville (Sydney, NS) owns Woodmere Ceilidh, who has now won three of her 11 starts and has banked over $30,000 in her career. Woodmere Ceilidh has only missed the board in one of her starts.
To view the harness racing results for Sunday at Truro, click the following link: Sunday Results – Truro Raceway.