Although Daddy Warbucks went winless in the preliminary legs of Champions Series, he picked up cheques in all three starts carrying him into Saturday night's $35,100 final and giving him the opportunity to earn his biggest pay day yet. And that's just what he did with a first over trip over Sudbury Downs' sloppy track
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Daibin N and trainer-driver Mike MacNeill, winner of two opening leg divisions, established the lead from Post 5 in the field, which was scratched down to eight. The veteran pacer and his pilot carved out fractions of :28.1, :58 and 1:28.1 before trainer-driver Gerry Belanger and Daddy Warbucks launched their attack from third. Belanger and his four-year-old Western Hanover gelding wore down Daibin N in the stretch to score the 1:59 victory by one length. Donegal Mac, with Jason Ryan in the bike, sprinted home from the back of the pack to grab third.
Daddy Warbucks, owned by the Belanger Racing Stables of Barrie, Ont., paid $24.60 for the 11-1 upset. The win was his seventh of the season in 32 starts and the lion's share of the purse pushed his 2011 earnings to over $66,000 while his lifetime bankroll climbed past the $100,000 mark.
The Champions Series was for pacers that were non-winners of $75,000 in 2011 as of Oct. 22.
To view results from Saturday's harness racing card, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Sudbury Downs.