Kenogami Coco put a scare into Warrawee Xalt and his supporters in the $10,000 Preferred Trot on Halloween night at Rideau Carleton Raceway. But the 1-5 shot delivered treats to his backers and connections in the feature on the Thursday (Oct. 31) card.
Ryan Guy sat the pocket with Warrawee Xalt and allowed an eager Duke Lavictoire to push through panels of :26.2, :56.2 and 1:24.2 on the engine. That punishing pace caught up to Duke Lavictoire in the lane, and that engine started to run out of steam. Warrawee Xalt vacated the pocket and started to gain on the leader, passing him in midstretch. Robert Shepherd angled Kenogami Coco up the pylons to threaten late, but it was too late as Warrawee Xalt hit the wire a head better than Kenogami Coco in 1:57. Ripped And Ready (Jimmy Gagnon) completed the top trio.
Pat Dillon of Port Hope, Ont. trains and co-owns five-year-old Warrawee Xalt (Royalty For Life - Noble Peace Prize) along with Patti Hoskin of Port Hope. Posting his ninth win of the season and 22nd lifetime, Warrawee Xalt now sports $278,380 in earnings. He returned $2.40 to win.
The tandem of driver Guy Gagnon and trainer Mandy Archer performed perfectly on Thursday, with each Gagnon-driven Archer trainee finding its way to the winner's circle. In fact, Archer sent out four starters and finished the night with a 3-1-0 summary as her only loss came to a horse she also trained. Those victories came with D A Magic Mike (1:54.4; $2.10) in the second race, Dinner Party (1:54.2; $4.70) in the third and Meadowbranch Noble (1:57.4; $2.20) in the seventh.
Archer leads Gagnon 90-78 in the trainer standings, but Gagnon sports a 146-79 lead over Pascal Berube on the driving side at Rideau this year.
For the results from Thursday's card of harness racing in the nation's capital, click the following link: Thursday Results - Rideau Carleton Raceway.
(Standardbred Canada)