A parade of freshman stars graced the oval at Fraser Downs on Friday evening in a set of $25,000 divisions of the Dan Ingram Memorial for colt and gelding pacers.
West Coast Beach went to the front and didn’t look back en route to a 1:55 triumph for trainer/driver Rod Therres.
The son of Sunshine Beach-Village Janus sprinted to the top from Post 1 and laid down fractions of :28.1, :58.3 and 1:26.4 before scooting home in :28.1 to win by a half-length margin over Strateontilmorning. Race favourite Dontpokethedragon was third in the five-horse affair.
Therres shares ownership on the homebred with partner Veikko Pajunen of Vancouver, BC. The gelding has manufactured a 3-2-1 record from six starts while piling up earnings of $57,066.
Major Custard captured the other division, and in doing so he pushed his winning streak to four-in-a-row for trainer Jim Marino.
Brandon Campbell put the son of Custard The Dragon-Chemistry Major on the early lead from Post 1, and the 1-5 favourite sliced out splits of :27.4, :58.2 and 1:27.2 before kicking home in :28 to win by a head over Speaking Of Art in 1:55.2. Rounding out the Trifecta ticket was Outlaw C My Shadow.
Marino owns the gelding with J J J Stables of Prince George, BC. The partners watched the youngster improve his record to 5-2-0 from just seven trips to the track this season. The $12,500 payday helped his bankroll balloon to $87,900.
The card also featured a $10,850 Open Pace, and it went to the Jim Marino-trained and Brandon Campbell-driven Boiling Oar in 1:53.
The got away last in the five-horse affair while Cool Cowboy whacked out first-half fractions of :26.4 and :56.4. Peace Out Posse brushed to the lead while racing parked past the three-quarter pole in 1:24.4. Hot on his heels from second over was Boiling Oar.
Campbell managed to milk a :28-second final quarter from his charge, and that was more than enough for the four-year-old son of Shadow Play-Arm In Arm to post the two-length decision over Iwontdothatagain in 1:53. Peace Out Posse took home the show dough.
J J J Stables owns the gelding who has racked up 12 wins this season and 18 over the course of his career. The victory pushed his lifetime earnings over $190,000.
To view results for Friday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Friday Results – Fraser Downs.