Windsun Revenge went wire-to-wire in Mohawk Racetrack's weekly edition of the $34,000 Preferred Trot to kick off the Friday night (October 7) card of harness racing and a streak of three straight wins for driver Paul MacDonell. Meanwhile, Whiskey Tax went over the million-dollar earnings mark with his runner-up finish in the feature.
MacDonell picked up the catch-drive on Windsun Revenge and left from post six to take command of the field before the first turn. The five-year-old Kadabra-Oaklea Polly gelding proceeded to carve out fractions of :27.2, :56 and 1:23.3 without facing any serious challengers from his six rivals until late in the mile en route to a career-best 1:51.4 victory. Trainer Jeff Durham and breeder Robert Van Camp share ownership of Windsun Revenge, who has now won two Preferred events in a row and is a career winner of 14 races and $293,763 in purse earnings.
Whiskey Tax, driven by Randy Waples, emerged from the pocket in the stretch and finished three-quarters of a length behind Windsun Revenge in second-place to became harness racing's newest millionaire. The eight-year-old Revenue S-Bourbon Belle gelding, who has won 17 races lifetime and earned his biggest paycheque as the 2011 Hambletonian runner-up to Broad Bahn, is campaigned by Puslinch, Ontario-based trainer Tom Durand, his wife June, and co-owner Allan Smith of Oakville, Ont.
Windsun Revenge paid $5.10 to win as the 3-2 second favourite in the wagering. Longshot Catch The Dream and Phil Hudon edged out 7-5 favourite Lookslikeachpndale and Sylvain Filion four lengths behind for third-place honours.
As for MacDonell, he went on to win the following races with Selling The Dream ($5.20) and Work That Magic ($66.40). The Guelph, Ont. reinsman sat out for the evening's fourth race and then headed right back to the winner's circle after a fourth winning drive aboard Shes Lights Out ($8.90).
To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Mohawk Racetrack.