Over Ice won every panel en route to victory in the $100,000 Betty Millbank Memorial B.C. Stakes final for freshman pacing fillies at Fraser Downs on Thursday evening (Oct. 26) and extended her career resume to five-for-five in the process.
After setting a :27.2 opening panel, Brandon Campbell and Over Ice distanced themselves from their opponents. They went to the half in :58 and three-quarters in 1:26.1 where they deeply extended their lead beyond two lengths. Down to the wire, Over Ice won in 1:54.2 by 8-1/4 lengths. Great Emotion (David Hudon) finished second and Senorita Draco (Scott Knight) completed the spread.
With perfect ones across the board, the two-year-old daughter of Custard The Dragon and the American Ideal mare Arm In Arm boasts $80,500 earned from five wins in five starts in her young career. She is trained by Jim Marino and is owned by J J J Stables. Over Ice paid $2.10 to win as the 1-9 favourite.
Over Ice took a new lifetime mark and established a new Fraser track record in the process. The former record of 1:55 was set by Custard Smoothie in 2020.
The $100,000 Robert Millbank Memorial B.C. Stakes was won by Buddy Knocks, who waited until the three-quarters to strike and fended off a late charge by Outlawstaythcourse at the wire. The freshman gelding extended his own resume to a perfect five-for-five, too.
Buddy Knocks (Scott Knight) sat fourth through panels in :26.3 and :55.2 before pulling first over as the three-quarters mark in 1:24.2 was approached. In the final turn, Buddy Knocks had achieved the lead, but Outlawstaythcourse (John Abbott) sought a challenge in the stretch with a flying maneuver from the center of the track. In a photo finish at the wire, Buddy Knocks prevailed by a neck in 1:54.1 and the fast-closing Outlawstaythcourse had to settle for second. Key Dragon (Giesbrecht) took the show spot.
Owned by Veikko Pajunen, the Rod Therres student shows $75,500 earned from five wins in five starts. The son of Betterthancheddar and the Sportswriter mare Yoga Pants returned a $5.20 win ticket as the 8-5 second choice.
Miss Itunes won the $10,000 Fillies and Mares Preferred Handicap Pace for the second consecutive week with the same tactic of a gate-to-wire approach.
The Chris Lancaster trainee and Philip Giesbrecht posted panels in :27.1, :57 and 1:24.4 en route to a 3-3/4-length score in 1:53. Century Mach (Kelly Hoerdt) took second and Western Summit (Campbell) was third.
Owned by Donna Wyse, the six-year-old Mystery Chase daughter earned her seventh seasonal win from 27 starts and her 23rd career victory, sending her lifetime bankroll to $231,863. She paid $2.70 to win as the bettors' choice.
To view Thursday's harness racing results, click the following link: Thursday Results - Fraser Downs.