Round two of the Mary Murphy Breeders Stakes and the Robert Millbank Memorial went postward on the Thursday program at Fraser Downs, and fans were treated to a little bit of everything in the four divisions.
Hurried Romance kicked things off for the three-year-old pacing fillies with a 1:55 triumph in her $15,000 division of the Mary Murphy Breeders Stake.
Trainer/driver Rod Therres guided her to the half-length score over Ynothos, with Glimpseofgoodness taking home third prize. Hurried Romance was one for the longshot players to appreciate as she erupted for the 21-1 stunner.
Therres shares ownership on the daughter of Dragon Again-Shes Just Rockin with Carol Ann Leeson and Blair Miller. It was the fourth win of the season – and the fifth to date – for the career winner of $75,678.
Marilyn took the other division in 1:56.1 for the team of driver Kevin Anderson and trainer Debra McCarthy.
Anderson hustled the daughter of Custard The Dragon-Lady Luvs Diamonds through panels of :27.4, :58.4 and 1:27.3 before using a :28.3 closing panel to win by a half-length margin over Nice Aint My Color in 1:56.1. Hanks Mystress was third.
It was the second win of the year for the five-time winner who upped her lifetime earnings to $46,523 with the victory. She is owned by Mark Anderson of Willows, CA.
Bettor Cat, who was a 1:55.3 winner in leg one of the Robert Millbank Memorial, made a round trip to victory lane thanks to his 1:56.4 score in Thursday’s second leg assignment.
Trainer/driver Jim Marino mapped out a perfect two-hole trip for the youngster, who popped out in the lane and drew clear to win by a pair of lengths over Kootenay Mystery in 1:56.4. Custards Dungeon rounded out the Trifecta ticket in the $15,000 affair.
Marino shares ownership on the homebred with J J J Stables of Prince George, BC. The lightly-raced rookie has banked more than $15,000 in his first three outings.
Rockin N Talkin gave Marino and the J J J Stables the sweep of the Millbank split thanks to his 1:57.1 triumph in the second division.
Again, it was a two-hole trip mapped out by trainer/driver Marino that played a big part in landing the rookie in the winner’s circle. The son of Custard The Dragon-Shes Just Rockin kicked home to win over Spiderdman and Major Winker.
The colt, who won last week’s division in 1:56, now owns a 2-1-0 record in his first three outings. His lifetime earnings climbed to $16,575 in the process.
Marino enjoyed an outstanding night thanks in large part to his stakes winners, but he added a pair of overnight scores with stablemates G Ts Jamie (1:57.1) and See You At Five (1:57.1) to bring his nightly win total to four.
Keys Please pulled off a 25-1 shocker in the $12,000 Fillies & Mares Open Pace winning in 1:55.4 for Preston Shaw and trainer Paul Urquhart. It was Awhimaway (60-1) grabbing the runner-up award, with third prize earned by JL Wonder Woman (7-2).
The four-year-old daughter of Mister Big-Whitskey improved her 2018 record to 4-2-0 from 14 starts with the win. The nine-time winner is a homebred owned by Simone Urquhart of Surrey, BC. The $6,000 payday boosted her bankroll to $131,180.
To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results – Fraser Downs.