Cant Stop defied her long odds with a wire-to-wire winning effort in Wednesday night's $7,500 Preferred 3 for distaff pacers at Flamboro Downs.
Scott Coulter teamed up with Cant Stop for the first time in their careers and guided the five-year-old mare on the lead through panels of :28.2, :58.1 and 1:26.3 to the two-length victory in 1:55.4. Trained by Tom Hamm and owned and bred by Bill Hamm, the daughter of Rambaran and Super Filly equalled her season's mark amidst light snow and came within one-fifth of her lifetime record, which was taken at Woodbine Racetrack as a three-year-old.
Cant Stop paid $37.70 to win. Tigra Seelster (Nick Steward) followed in the pocket throughout to finish second ahead of Trilife (Scott Young).
Cant Stop has earned half of her 10 career wins in 2016 and now has a bankroll of $82,754.
The other double-digit upset of the night was posted by four-year-old trotting mare Angel Assault and driver Michael Whelan in the $14,700 final of the Alliance Series for $12,500 claimers.
Leaving from the inside posts, favourite Stormont Jubilee (Bruce Richardson) forged on to clear Bluebird D Train (Billy Davis Jr.) through a :28.2 opening quarter before coming under attack by Crystal Girl (Robert Shepherd) on the way to the half in :59.3. Crystal Girl gained the advantage on the backstretch with 13-1 shot Angel Assault following in pursuit past three-quarters in 1:29.2. In a two-horse breakaway heading into the stretch, Angel Assault pulled ahead to defeat Crystal Girl by nearly three lengths in a career-best time of 1:59.3.
The daughter of Federal Flex, who also won her second leg division last week, is owned by trainer Walter Whelan and Ronald Loucks. Her back-to-back series victories were the first wins of her career spanning 39 starts.
Angel Assault was sent postward at odds of 13-1 in Wednesday's final and returned $29.50 to win.
To view Wednesday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Wednesday Results - Flamboro Downs.