Bettim Again defeated rival Rotten Ronnie when they faced off in the $9,778 Nova Scotia Stake for three-year-old male pacers on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 7) at Truro Raceway.
With Todd Trites catch-driving, Bettim Again outsprinted the favoured Rotten Ronnie and Redmond Doucet to the lead into a :28 opening quarter, with Pictonian I Am and Darren Crowe closing the gap in third through a :57.3 half. Bettim Again continued to lead the trio into the backstretch with Rotten Ronnie right on Trites' helmet before Pictonian I Am took his shot but posed no threat past three-quarters 1:28.1. After the rated middle half, there was no catching even-money Bettim Again as he turned for home with Rotten Ronnie chasing one length behind. The winning time was 1:56.3.
The Malicious-Bettim Laura gelding has won five of his last seven starts for trainer George Rennison. He now boasts a record reading 8-2-5 from 20 starts this year with his annual income topping $60,000 for breeder Jeffrey Lilley, who co-owns with Christina Lecky of Summerside, P.E.I., Blair MacLauchlan of Charlottetown, P.E.I., and Ian MacDonald of Lower Sackville, N.S.
While settling for the runner-up honours in the featured stakes event, Doucet won half of Sunday's 10 races, including three in a row mid-card by a combined 23-1/4 lengths with Indywheelbarrow ($2.90) for trainer Travis MacLean, Regally Magnified ($2.40) for Zach Mullins and Mighty Mouse ($8) for Carl Isenor. He also scored with Adam Johnson's Glenview Quintanna ($10.10) and the Rennison-trained 13-year-old Electric Syl ($4.80) to close out the afternoon action.
The weekly $2,000 Winners Over Pace was won by the Chuck Miles trainee Little Manny, who took command from backstretch leader Imalookertoo with an eighth of a mile to go and widened to 5-1/4 lengths before hitting the wire in 1:56.3. Stephen Trites drove the four-year-old gelded son of Articulator for his partners Dean McLaughlin, Brad McLaughlin and Mark Taylor.
Sent postward as the 8-5 second choice behind early leaver American Risk, Little Manny returned $6.80 to win. Thunder Alley (Redmond Doucet) finished second ahead of Imalookertoo (Darren Crowe).
A nose shy of victory in the Autumn Gold Series final last time out at Exhibition Park Raceway, the New Brunswick invader notched his eighth win of the season from 25 starts while matching his lifetime mark.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Truro Raceway.