Village Janus Victorious In Miss Valentine

Village Janus fought off a pair of persistent challengers in the $25,000 Miss Valentine Stake en route to winning her four-year-old debut for horseman Rod Therres and new owner Veikko Pajunen on Sunday

at Fraser Downs.

With insider Imherefortheparty (Keith Clark) making a break behind the gate, Village Janus had no issues getting down to the pylons and taking command from the second starting spot. In rein to Serge Masse, the former Battle of the Belles and Ontario Sires Stakes Gold champion led her fellow four-year-old mares to the first quarter in :28.1 and half in :57.4 with the parked out Red Star Hannah (Tim Brown) looming to her outside.

Red Star Hannah poked a nose in front down the backstretch, but couldn't keep up and began to fade while the popular Just Fiction (Jim Marino) swept three-wide and took her turn in challenging the leader.

Village Janus and Just Fiction battled on top past the 1:26.1 three-quarters mark and all the way down the homestretch, putting the photo finish camera to work. With the slight edge, Village Janus managed to hold on for the victory over the sloppy track in 1:55 flat. Just Fiction missed by just a nose while Red Star Hannah settled for third eight and three-quarter lengths behind.

Village Janus recorded her ninth win in 32 career starts while upping her bankroll to $291,318. Trainer-owner Therres recently sold a 50 per cent share of the Modern Art-Village Jest mare to Vancouver resident Pajunen, along with a few of his other stable stars.

Village Janus paid $5.80 to win as the second choice.

Sunday's card also featured the first round of the BBs Mirage Claiming Series, which also produced a pair of close finishes. Red Star Brea ($17.40) edged by the favoured Intrepid Kate and Masse to win the first split in 1:58 for teamsters Tim Brown and Ray Gemmill while the Glenn White-trained and driven Pureform Goodtogo ($10.50) held off the more popular Queens Heritaj and J.F. Gagne to win the next division in 1:57.4. Pureform Goodtogo's victory was her third in a row. The series is for $9,000 claiming mares and each opening leg division was worth $7,500 apiece.

Close calls seemed to be the theme of the day as the winning margin in 10 of the 12 races on the card was less than one length.

To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Fraser Downs.