Grandma Dorothy wore down favourite Misty Moonshine to earn her second straight Western Fair Raceway win on Saturday night in the evening's feature event, the $12,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred Pace
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The first quarter in the 10th race feature was dominated by a three-horse battle for the top spot as Jinglejanglejingle (Claude Girard), Bunny Mach (Bruce Richardson) and Indeman (Robert Sparling Jr.) fired off the gate together and raced three-deep to the quarter pole in :27-seconds. Indeman finally cleared the lead just past that marker and opened up two lengths ahead of Bunny Mach with Jinglejanglejingle third.
Watching the early action from fourth was favourite Misty Moonstone (Peter Core), and she was flushed first up at the three-eighths mark when Grandma Dorothy and trainer-driver Greg Dustin tipped to the outside from fifth.
Indeman hit the half in :57.1 with Misty Moonstone advancing first over and Grandma Dorothy and early trailer Putnam MacKenzie (Trevor Henry) following on the outside.
Misty Moonstone made the lead before the 1:26.2 third quarter mark leaving Grandma Dorothy uncovered while Putnam MacKenzie began to tip three-deep. As Grandma Dorothy moved up alongside the new leader heading into the final turn, Putnam MacKenzie abandoned her three-wide move.
The top two mares battled head-to-head down the stretch with Grandma Dorothy pushing ahead at the wire to score the 1:57.1 victory by half a length over Misty Moonshine. Sammy Syd (Mike Whelan), the 61-1 longest shot on the board, came on for third while Putnam MacKenzie finished fourth over the three early leavers.
Grandma Dorothy paid $26.40 to win as the 12-1 fifth choice in the field. The homebred daughter of Mach Three-Cant Beat A Tiger now sports a record reading 5-7-6 in 33 starts this year with close to $50,000 earned. The career earner of over $125,000, who has hit the board in 49 of her 76 career starts, is owned by Melvin, Keith and Raymond Wilson of Kerwood, Ont.
Dustin went back-to-back with the upset winners as he guided his trainee J M Lasstax ($20.60), a four-year-old Camluck-Tipn Tax mare owned and bred by R. K. Joe Miskokomon of Muncey, Ont., to a 1:57.2 front end, half-length decision over favourites Pathmarks (Ryan Holliday) and Beach Resort (Trevor Henry) in the next race.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Western Fair Raceway.