Veteran pacer Euchred was back on top in the featured Winners Over Pace at Inverness Raceway on Sunday (Oct. 23) giving top driver Redmond Doucet his fifth victory on the afternoon program.
Doucet's successful Sunday was capped off by Euchred ($5.30) in the $2,450 featured finale as they charged three-wide to command from the outside and led four foes through panels of :28.4, :57.4 and 1:27.4 before fighting off the first-over challenge from Thunder Alley (Doug MacQuarrie) down the stretch to win by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:57.4. Eastcoast Invader (Travis MacLean) finished third off cover.
Betterthanbutter (Zachary Mullins) was fourth-placed-fifth after a judges inquiry found he had caused interference with even-money favourite Rockemsockem Scott (Gerard Kennedy) heading to the seven-eighths and coming through the stretch went inside two pylons. Rockemsockem Scott inherited fouth.
The win was the seventh in 20 starts this year for Euchred, who is trained by Walter Walker and owned by Kayla Habicht Walker of Invernes, N.S. The 10-year-old Shadow Play gelding now boasts 76 victories lifetime and sits just shy of the $160,000 earnings mark.
Inverness Raceway's leading driver Doucet tacked on five more wins to his local total, which now stands at 34. He has a 15-win lead on Doug MacQuarrie in the driver standings heading into next Sunday's season finale.
Doucet also had success on Sunday driving freshman filly JJ Aurora ($3.10) for trainer Robert MacLeod, pacer J J Knights Image ($8.20) for Eileen Beaton, 12-year-old mare Southwest Bliss ($11.70) for Alex MacDonald and the Stanley Harper-trained repeat winner Windemere Best Man ($5.90).
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Inverness Raceway.