The winning streak is officially four-in-a-row and counting for Southwind Ricardo following his narrow triumph in Saturday’s $1,550 feature race at Northside Downs.
Harold J Le Blanc was parked every step of the mile with Southwind Ricardo, who survived the tough journey en route to posting the victory in 2:02.4.
Leaving from Post 6, Southwind Ricardo was fourth and parked for the opening half before advancing to be second on the rim at the three-quarter pole. Doc Ronhenry led the field through fractions of :28.4, :59.4 and 1:31.3, but he came up a head short to the dead game Southwind Ricardo who stepped home in :31 to post the win over his pacesetting counterpart. Third prize in the five-horse affair went to Accelerator.
Sent off as the 6-5 favourite, the six-year-old son of Dragon Again-Southwind Rio improved his 2019 record to 9-2-2 from 25 starts for trainer Harold Le Blanc. He co-owns the 29-time winner with Joel Le Blanc, William Seymour and Bernie Gillis. The win pushed the pacer’s lifetime earnings just shy of $100,000.
A two-horse accident occurred in the late stages of the eighth race, with Western Swing (Martin Bates) and Private Practice (Gerry Snow) failing to finish.
Reports from Northside indicate that Martin Bates is OK after the incident. Gerry Snow was attended to by medical staff and an update on his status will be provided when available.
To view results for Saturday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Saturday Results – Northside Downs.