It's not often that a Goaltender scores, but that's exactly what happened at The Raceway at the Western Fair District on Tuesday evening (Nov. 15) in the top class $8,600 trot.
Goaltender (Samuel Fillion) started from the second tier off the car, getting away fifth in the field of seven and 7-1/4 lengths off of the leading Tymal Houdini (Colin Kelly). After the first quarter in :28, favoured Thee Desperado (Tyler Borth) pulled first up with Goaltender following his cover. The field got to the half in :58.2 when Thee Desperado made a misstep and lost ground. Heavy Dude E (Ryan Desroche) took the opportunity to pull off the rail and Goaltender was able to keep cover on the outside. Heavy Dude E charged to the front through the 1:28.4 third quarter, taking control momentarily. Rounding the far turn, Goaltender pulled three wide challenging Heavy Dude E for the lead. In the stretch, the pair of trotters battled it out until Goaltender came out victorious to win by three-quarters of a length in 2:00.2. Heavy Dude E ($25.90) finished in second by that same fraction over Field Gunner (Travis Henry).
A five-year-old gelding by Wheeling N Dealin out of the Muscle Hill mare Octane, Goaltender paid $22.40 to win. Brett Lester trains the trotter, who picked up his fourth win of the season and 12th lifetime. Francois Morin of Beauceville, Que. owns Goaltender, now a winner of $97,405 in his career.
To view Tuesday evening's complete harness racing results, click the following link: Tuesday Results - The Raceway at the Western Fair District.