It was another wet day for the horsemen at St Johns Racetrack, but that didn’t stop them from putting on a solid nine-race program on Sunday
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The card featured the weekly edition of the Preferred Pace and a pair of stake events for freshmen and sophomore pacers.
Abbie Ample turned a second-over trip into a 2:08 score in the $2,200 Atlantic Sires Stakes Fair Division 3-Year-Old Pace for owner/trainer/driver Rodney Forward of Goulds, NL. The daughter of N Xample-Alotta Class sat in the draft of first-over attacker Dusty Lane Zoe before blowing by that foe and everyone else in the process. The margin of victory was a little more than a length over Camco Norilla. Muzzysenglishbaby grabbed the show dough.
Forward’s filly went 0-for-11 in last year’s freshman campaign, but she has bounced back to post a 4-for-11 record this year.
Owner/trainer Carl Ryall of Goulds, NL and driver Shane Forward had to be pleased with the performance turned in by Our Ryall Flush in the $1,500 NLSBA 2-Year-Old-Pace. The daughter of Toofunnyforwords-Ma Parker camped out in the pocket while Quickram threw down fractions of :30.4 and 1:02.1. Forward moved the filly to the top in the third quarter, and she proceeded to lay down a three-quarter clocking of 1:33.3 before splashing home in :32.1 over the sloppy oval en route to notching the 2:05.4 tally. It was more than nine lengths back to runner-up Dontbenervous. Victors Passion rounded out the top three.
It was the fifth start of the 2009 campaign for the pacer, who now owns a 2-2-0 record. The 2:05.4 clocking was a new lifetime mark for the freshman filly.
The win streak is now five-in-a-row and counting for P H Tornado, who crushed his counterparts in the $775 Preferred Pace for trainer/driver Gord Fleming. The four-year-old son of Grinfromeartoear sat a pocket trip behind Machthemoment through panels of :29.3, :59.3 and 1:29.3 before edging off the pylons and roaring away to a 16-length score in 1:59.4. Machthemoment was second and Lady Jessie finished third.
Clifford Garland of Carbonear, NL holds the papers on the gelding, who is now 11-for-31 this season. He has stashed away more than $100,000 to date.
To view Sunday’s harness racing results, click here.