Favourite Northern Royale swept to command after the opening quarter and closed out the Wine & Roses Trotting Series a winner during the Valentine's Day card at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Northern Royale left sharply from post six in the $33,000 series finale for driver Sylvain Filion before 52-1 shot Kinderunbelievable, firing to her outside, crossed in front through a :27.4 opening quarter. The favourite then looped the longshot leaver down the backstretch and posted middle splits of :56.4 and 1:26.3 en route to a three-length victory in 1:55.4. Second-place went to 3-1 second choice Club Belvedere (James MacDonald), who made a bold rush out of the four-hole in tandem with Northern Royale's winning move during the second quarter and dropped into the pocket to follow the rest of the way. Delilah Seelster (Bob McClure), the longest shot on the board, was last at the half and closed late to finish third at nearly 75-1.
Northern Royale, who endured a parked out trip to win the January 30 first leg, was just a head shy of a series sweep as rival Club Belvedere had collared her in their last match up on February 6. Sent postward as the favourite in the finale, she paid $3.30 to win as the 3-5 bettors' choice.
Northern Royale's bankroll swelled to six figures as she improved her career record to 9-5-1 from 26 starts. Julie Walker trains the four-year-old Royalty For Life-Dover Miss mare for owners Brenda Walker, Barry Klages and Nancy Holmes.
The series was for three and four-year-old fillies and mares that were non-winners of $60,000 lifetime as of October 31, 2019.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Mohawk Park.