Dalhousie Dave returned to the Open ranks on Saturday night at Woodbine Racetrack and pulled off a 24-1 upset as he rallied from last to first in the $50,000 feature.
Bettor Again (Mike Vanderkemp) fired off the gate from the outside post seven in the Open Pace and swept to the lead ahead of Bigtime Ball (Paul MacDonell) during a :26.4 opening panel. As the field straightened up down the backstretch, 4-5 favourite Rockincam (Jack Moiseyev) advanced first up from fourth and took over command at the :55.3 half-mile mark.
From there, the trailing Dalhousie Dave and driver Rick Zeron began to roll, flushing out Bigtime Ball en route to the 1:22.3 third quarter station. Bigtime Ball applied pressure to the leader into the stretch with Bettor Again squeezing up the pylons and Dalhousie Dave rallying off cover.
In the end it was Dalhousie Dave who got up in the final strides for the 1:50.3 triumph. Ok Commander (Doug McNair) closed well off the winner's cover, but came up a neck short at the wire. Bigtime Ball rounded out the top three finishers.
Dalhousie Dave returned $51.90 to his backers for a $2 win ticket.
The five-year-old Astreos gelding notched his 13th career victory and surpassed the $500,000 earnings mark for trainer Tony O'Sullivan and owners John and Jim Fielding of Toronto, Ont.
O'Brien Award winner Monkey On My Wheel converted of perfect pocket trip into her second seasonal score in the $42,000 Fillies & Mares Open Pace.
With the inside post advantage, 2-1 favourite Waasmula (Luc Ouellette) established the lead off the gate while Monkey On My Wheel and driver Keith Oliver settled into the two-hole. Waasmula carved out fractions of :26.4, :55.4 and 1:23.1 before Monkey On My Wheel took her shot and wore down the leader for the one length victory in 1:51.2. Waasmula was second while Voelz Hanover (Mario Baillargeon) finished nearly five lengths back in third.
Monkey On My Wheel paid $9.90 to win as the 7-2 third choice.
The four-year-old Mach Three miss earned her 12th career win while pushing her bankroll to $1,142,294 for breeder Mac Nichol of Burlington, Ont., trainer Travis Umphrey of Guelph, Ont. and co-owner Timothy Kane of St. Albert, Alta.
In other Saturday action, Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots champion Lucky Jet pushed his win streak to five with a 1:52.1 two and a half length victory, which was the first of three consecutive wins on the card for driver Mike Saftic. The popular three-year-old Jeremes Jet colt is trained by Gregg McNair for owners Thomas Harmer of Willowbrook, Illinois, Michelle Crawford of Cazenovia, New York, and Edward Kollross of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Racetrack.