It was a case of multiple-win performances all around during Thursday’s 15-race card at Rideau Carleton Raceway, with driver John MacDonald and trainers Brenda Spence and Rene Allard making the headlines.
MacDonald clicked for a five-bagger thanks to wins with Coastal Flyer (2:01.4), Here Comes Annie (1:59.2), Long Life (1:57.1), Minnesota Hanover (1:55.4) and American Captain (1:57.2).
Currently sitting third among Rideau’s leading reinsman thanks to 206 wins at the oval, MacDonald is one of four sulky sitters to have more than $1 million in earnings at Rideau Carleton Raceway this season. The 2012 campaign marks the seventh consecutive year that MacDonald has stashed away earnings in excess of $1 million.
Training triples were celebrated by Brenda Spence and Rene Allard on the Thursday evening card, and for Allard the winning spree helped him to pull within 30 wins of conditioner Richard Moreau on the Canadian leader board.
Allard watched his brother, Simon Allard, pilot Chips Shadow (2:00), Intheblinkofaneye (1:53.3) and Merited Victory (1:57.1) to wins while Spence joined forces with driver Stephane Gendron to win with Undersky El Paso (1:55.3) and Earlsact (1:59.4). Spence completed her hat-trick thanks to a wire-to-wire win V I P (1:59.2), who was driven to victory by Robbie Robinson.
For Allard, the three-win performance lifts this year’s Canadian win total to 243 while his North American total jumped to 364 – a personal best. The native of Quebec has surged past $3 million in earnings for the second consecutive season, and the way things have been going as of late he’s got a great chance to break his single season earnings record ($3,285,938 set in 2011).
Spence’s solid night at the office helped her boost her yearly win total to 34 and her lifetime total to 331. Her stable has stashed away more than $237,000 in earnings this year, and she’s less than $47,000 shy of surpassing $2 million in career earnings.
To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results – Rideau Carleton Raceway.