The fourth leg of the B.C. Breeders Stakes continued on Friday night at Fraser Downs with two-year-old pacing colts and three-year-old pacing fillies in the spotlight.
Freshman colts Mister Hat and Mystic Ruled opened the Halloween card with victories in a pair of $7,500 Robert Millbank divisions.
Westerners Stable's Mister Hat ($2.80) earned back-to-back Robert Millbank division wins for driver Jim Marino and trainer Marjorie Dumont. The Mister Big-Shirley Hall colt went wire-to-wire in 2:00.2 over the "good" track and prevailed by three-quarters of a lengths over Illwinifican, with Silva rounding out the top three finishers.
Evert Vandenborn's homebred Mystic Ruler ($2.10), who was a runner-up to Mister Hat in the last leg and a winner in round two, made it back to victory lane with a 2:00.1 front-stepping score in the next division. Bill Davis drove the Camystic-Tough Promise colt, who is trained by Sam Robinson. Finishing four and a half lengths behind the winner, Thrillaofthevilla and Tahuya Roadster inherited second and third, respectively, following a judges' placing involving Blissful Angel.
Marino picked up another B.C. Breeders Stakes victory as he guided Ty O'Neill trainee News At Ten ($20.40) to a maiden-breaking triumph in a $7,500 Mary Murphy division, overtaking the popular pacesetter Jennys Big Book and hitting the wire in 1:59.4. The winning margin was three-quarters of a length while Killemwithmyawsome finished two lengths back in third. Philip McLaren purchased the Youdontknowjack-Twice Royal filly, now a 14-time starter, privately in September.
Sharon Renkers Memorial Stakes champion T Squared ($3.90) continued her consistent sophomore season, racking up her third Mary Murphy division win for trainer/driver Rick White and co-owner June Kauffman. The homebred Allamerican Cobalt-Samantha Square filly went down the road to win in 1:57.3, holding off Philly Collins by half a length while Run And Tell followed in third.
B.C. Breeders Classic Day, the province's richest day in harness racing, is set for Tuesday, Nov. 11 and will feature all four pacing division finals.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Fraser Downs.