A perfect trip helped Thats Ideal find his way to the winner’s circle in Thursday’s $13,400 Preferred Pace at Rideau Carleton Raceway, and it helped the longshot players pad their bank accounts.
Thats Ideal, who was sent off as a 14-1 outsider in the six-horse affair, tracked Stallone through splits of :27.1, :56.4 and 1:25.4 before pocket pulling and using a :29.1 final frame to win in a time of 1:55.1 for driver John MacDonald.
Stallone was third-placed-second and Goodtime Sunset was fourth-placed third. Imjustalittleguy who crossed the line second was placed fourth for an infraction in the late stages of the mile.
Phil Doyle of Burlington, ON owns and trains the five-year-old son of Western Ideal, who won for the sixth time this season in 36 tries. The winning paycheque lifted the pacer’s career bankroll to $109,584.
Earlier on the program, Stoic extended his personal win streak to five-in-a-row thanks to a 1:58.2 score for trainer Mark Winacott and driver Gord Brown.
The five-year-old son of Basil front-stepped the field through panels of :28.3, :59 and 1:28.3 before sealing the deal with a final quarter clocked in :29.4.
Winacott shares ownership on the photogenic gelding with partners Patricia Wall of Omemee and James Patrick Wall of Youngs Point, ON. After going 0-for-6 in 2007, Stoic has assembled an impressive 11-1-3 record in 36 starts this season.
Brown and Winacott proved to be a lethal duo over the course of the program. They joined forces and found their way to victory lane three times thanks to wins with Lady Gambler (1:59.4), Awestreos (1:55.4) and the aforementioned Stoic (1:58.2).
Brown added a catch-driving victory with the Robert Dube-trained Zeph Lyon to bring his nightly win total to four.
To view Thursday’s results, click here.