R Royal Port added another victory to what has been his most prosperous season to date as he led wire-to-wire in the $11,000 Preferred Trot at Flamboro Downs on Saturday, Oct. 19.
Flamboro Downs leading driver Scott Coulter put R Royal Port on the point and had a big lead heading for home after setting fractions of :27.4, :56.3 and 1:25.2. Tymal Riggs (Travis Henry) tried to reel in the front-striding favourite when he moved out of third down the backstretch but came up a half-length short at the end as R Royal Port cruised under the wire in 1:55.1. Mercutio (Colin Kelly) rallied off cover to finish third.
A winner of the Preferred at Flamboro on Sept. 22 with a pair of top three finishes since, R Royal Port was bet down to 7-5 odds and paid $4.90 to win.
The five-year-old Archangel-World Class Izzy gelding, who had just two wins prior to this year and none in 2023, earned his 11th victory of the season from 31 starts under the management of trainer Gerard Demers. Owned by La Ferme Tag Inc. of Papineauville, Que., R Royal Port is just one of 16 trotters in North America with 11 or more wins on the season. In the midst of his first six-figure campaign that included a summer stint stateside, his career earnings surpassed the $150,000 mark after his successful Saturday start.
The evening's program also included the $8,500 second leg of an Autumn Series for young Ontario-sired trotters. Coyote Wynd Farms' two-year-old colt Gritty Hanover ($5.60) rebounded after making a miscue in the opening leg last week, winning here in 2:00.4. Driven by Colin Kelly for trainer Clark Beelby, the son of Wheeling N Dealin-Grits N Seven overcame interference when forced wide to avoid a mid-race breaker then powered to the lead with a quarter-mile to go and drew off by more than four lengths. He is now three-for-five in his young career. Major Bank (Travis Henry) finished second with broken equipment and Wheelin N Stealin (George Ketros) was the best of the rest.
The $20,000 (added) final of the series, which is for two and three-year-olds that were non-winners of $10,000 lifetime as of Sept. 30, will be contested next Saturday, Oct. 26 at Flamboro.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Flamboro Downs.
(Standardbred Canada; Photo of R Royal Port from a previous win)