Blueridge Adalia and Candid Photo won Virginia-bred divisional titles for the second straight year Sunday as three-year-olds as Colonial Downs closed out its 16th annual fall harness racing season with the $380,000 Day of Champions card.
Morgan Hagerman’s Blueridge Adalia captured the two-year-old filly pacing title a year ago and wired the field in Sunday’s title race as a sophomore in 1:53. The Badlands Hanover filly was driven by Colonial’s leading reinsman Chris Page, who scored four Virginia-bred wins. Page also guided Candid Photo to a 20 length triumph in the colt/gelding trot in a lifetime-best 1:57. The Classic Photo gelding came first over in the turn and surged past Flaming Yankee for trainer Jane Dunavant.
Dunavant also won the three-year-old filly trot with I Concur, who made up for a break in last week’s prep race to score a convincing five length victory in 1:57.4. Eloise Eden, who won that prep by 13 lengths, broke stride at the start, regained the lead through the turn, but faultered in deep stretch and took second.
Mark Gray’s Southern Hoss won the three-year-old colt/gelding trot. The gelded son of The Panderosa wired the field in the prep last week and duplicated the feat Sunday, beating The Virginian by one and a quarter lengths in 1:53.4. Chuck Perry directed the effort for owner Anne McDonald, who won another Virginia-bred divisional title with freshman filly trotter Always Quick Star.
Handsome Jim and Perfect Number battled for the second straight week in the two-year-old colt/gelding category, but their fortunes were reversed in the $51,475 final. Freddy Darby’s Perfect Number won the prep by a head over Jimmy Viars’ Handsome Jim in 1:56.2, but the order went the other way Sunday after a thrilling quarter-mile match race of sorts between the two after they pulled away from the six other competitors. Handsome Jim led throughout and won by a half-length in 1:58.1.
A Christmas theme carried through the other pair of two-year-old stakes as Jingle Bells won the colt/gelding trot in 2:03.2 for trainer/driver William Long while Santa Baby scored in the filly pace in 1:56.3.
(With files from Colonial Downs)