Mach Of Ballykeel and Zorgwijk Nova triumphed in their respective Preferred 3 assignments Monday at The Raceway at Western Fair District, and they did so as mild upsetters.
Zorgwijk Nova was a front-stepping winner in her $6,500 assignment for the tandem of driver James MacDonald and trainer Ronnie MacLean. The three-year-old daughter of Armbro Ricochet-Zorgwijk Amarillis sliced out splits of :28.3, 1:00.2 and 1:30.4 before finishing off her foes with a :30.3 final frame. She held off runner-up – and race favourite - Zorgwijk Jock by a length in the 2:01.2 decision. Savthelstdancforme was third.
MacLean shares ownership on the OSS graduate with Zorgwijk Stables Ltd, Happy Trails Stables and Murray Neilson. It was the fourth win of the season for the six-time winner who upped her lifetime earnings to $172,899 in the process.
Mach Of Ballykeel survived a first-over trip to take home the lion’s share of the $6,500 purse offered to the Preferred 3 pacers. Tomitta Bayama threw down fractions of :27.2, :57.4 and 1:27.2, be he gave way to Mach Of Ballykeel in the lane. Mach Of Ballykeel, who was first over before the mid-way point, drew clear to win by 1-1/2 lengths for Trevor Henry in a time of 1:58.1. Western Captive tracked the winner’s cover and finished second, while Tomitta Bayama tired late and settled for the show dough.
Richard Moreau trains the five-year-old son of Mach Three-Teig N Riley for Ballykeel Racing and Mach Of Ballykeel Stable of Tillsonburg, Ontario. The homebred improved this year’s record to 4-9-2 from 33 starts with the victory. The 16-time winner has banked in excess of $343,000 to date.
To view results for Monday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Monday Results – The Raceway at Western Fair District.