It’s now six starts and six wins for trotter Cool Muscle thanks to his come-from-behind tally Thursday evening at Woodbine Racetrack.
In rein to driver Scott Young, Cool Muscle was able to slide into an early six hole while Mass Psychology and Tammy Jo battled to the quarter pole in :28. Tammy Jo worked her way to the top and continued to slice out fractions of :58.1 and 1:28.1. Young swung his charge to the outside behind cover on the way to the mid-way point, and they remained sixth on the rim as the field headed into the final quarter of the $16,000 conditioned contest.
Tammy Jo was still in command at the top of the stretch, but a number of challengers sailed past her in the late going. One of those was Cool Muscle, who powered off covered and fired home in :28.4 to win by a one-length margin over Quadrangle in a career-best clocking of 1:57.4. Ice Hockey Hanover rallied from far back to grab the show dough.
Sent off as the 4-5 favourite in the nine-horse affair, Cool Muscle lifted his lifetime earnings to $28,850 with the win for owner Joann Hayter of Stratford, Ont. The three-year-old son of Muscle Mass-Canada Cool was a $40,000 purchase from 2015 Canadian Yearling Sale.
The career year continues for teamster Louis Philippe Roy, who celebrated a five-win performance during the Thursday evening card.
The sulky sitter from Mont-Joli, Quebec found his way to victory lane with Oceanview Deb (1:59.1 – Race 2), Undrafted (1:54.2 – Race 5), Restless Hanover (1:56 – Race 6), Highland Top Hill (1:57 – Race 8) and Independent Spirit (1:54.2 – Race 10).
It’s now 366 wins and counting on the season for Roy, who pushed this year’s purse earnings over $5.6 million by the end of the night. The career winner in excess of $7 million has racked up 727 wins to date.
To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results – Woodbine Racetrack.