The Sunday matinee program at Northlands program was harness racing’s version of a youth movement as rookie pacers squared off in a five-pack of stakes events
. It also turned out to be a very productive day for trainer/driver Keith Clark.
Fillies battled in a trio of $24,427 divisions of the Alberta Starburst while the colts and geldings went toe-to-toe in a set of $34,991 Alberta Lone Star splits.
Flak Jacket kicked things off by besting his Alberta Sires Stakes foes in the opening division of the Alberta Lone Star. The son of Brandons Cowboy sat a pocket trip throughout before rallying by the leaders en route to the 2:00 score for trainer/driver Jamie Gray. War Cry Ranger was next best and third prize went to Campasser. Robert Murphy of Surrey, BC holds the papers on the gelding, who owns a 5-3-2 record in 10 tries. He has banked more than $40,000 to date.
The lion’s share of the purse in the other split went to Prom Mister, who took over command at the half-mile marker and held on to win by a half-length margin in 2:01.2 for trainer/driver Warren Grant. Owned by the Swingline Stable of Edmonton, AB, the son of Freedoms Pass-Prom Miss improved his record to 3-2-1 in six starts by defeating Acemor and K B Hercules. The pacer is quickly closing in on $37,000 in lifetime earnings.
After eight failed attempts to light the lamp, Wrangler Raine broke through with a maiden-breaking triumph in the opening division of the Alberta Starburst for trainer/driver Keith Clark. The Camystic-Raines Lucey miss used off-the-pace tactics to post the win over My West and Tajerine Dream. The career winner of $28,814 is owned by the partnership of Dr. Maurice Stewart, Maureen Stewart, Rene Goulet and Glenda Smith of Alberta.
Keith Clark returned to victory lane with another one of his trainees, W Jean, the next tilt for the gals. The daughter of Camystic-Kelsey Victoria brushed to the lead shortly past the mid-way point and she drew off to win by more than three lengths in a time of 2:01.4. Cupacabra was second and Devon Cream rounded out the top three. Dr. Maurice Stewart, Maureen Stewart, Gord Rumpel and Blair Corbeil share ownership on the two-time winner, who upped her earnings to $23,364 with the victory.
Hall of Famer Clark also took the final tilt for the fillies with Rossridge Fortune, who survived a first-over journey to win in 2:01.1 over Cigarchompin Mona and Taj R Us. The freshman daughter of Brandons Cowboy-Whippet, who is owned by Clark and Alberta partners Robert Jones and John Hind, started her career with three losses but she has rattled off four consecutive victories to bring her record to 4-2-0 in seven assignments. Her bankroll is just shy of $40,000 to date.
To view Sunday’s harness racing results, click here.