The General Brock Series kicked off Monday night at Woodbine Racetrack under frigid temperatures at the Toronto oval.
A group of 18 three- and four-year-old trotters braved a wind chill of -20 degrees Celsius in a pair of $18,000 divisions for the first leg of the three-week series.
In the opening division, Severus Hanover went gate-to-wire to win in 1:58.1.
Driven by Jody Jamieson, the gelding trotted out to the early lead and hung up opening fractions of :29 and :59.3. Around the final turn, Severus Hanover stretch out his lead by a few lengths to post a three-quarter time 1:28.1 and then cruised home under no urging from Jamieson to win by 1-3/4 lengths over Oaklea Wyatt. Latoka took the third spot.
Severus Hanover is a four-year-old son of Explosive Matter and is trained by David Frey for owner 373818 Ontario Limited of Maple, Ontario. Monday’s victory was the trotter’s seventh career triumph and improved his 2015 record to two wins from three starts. The winner’s share of the purse increased his career bankroll to over $65,000. He paid $7.50.
In the second division, Bourbon Bay pulled off the upset victory to snap Bags For All’s four-race win streak.
Driven by Mike Saftic, Bourbon Bay was parked for the majority of the first turn before clearing in front of the 4/5 favourite Bags For All. However, James MacDonald and Bags For All did not wait long to move from the two-hole and circled around Bourbon Bay to take the lead at the half in :57. After posting a three-quarter time of 1:26.3, Bags For All led the field into the stretch with Bourbon Bay following closely in behind. In the stretch, Saftic and Bourbon Bay took their shot at Bags For All from the two-hole and were able to just get by the favourite in deep stretch to prevail by half a length in 1:55.3. Cash For Gold, who was second over around the final turn, got up for third.
Racing primarily in New York, Bourbon Bay shipped into the Mike Sinclair barn to win his WEG circuit debut Monday night. A four-year-old son of Sand Vic, Bourbon Bay is leased by John Cummings of Lancaster, New York and now has seven career victories, including two of three starts this season. Bourbon Bay’s career earnings now exceed $41,000. The clocking of 1:55.3 knocked more than three-seconds off the trotter’s previous lifetime mark. He paid $24.
Multiple winning tickets were purchased on Monday’s Jackpot Hi 5 wager, and as a result Thursday evening’s wager will feature a carryover of $253,742.09.
Monday’s winning combination featured the following numbers:
#4 Blissfull Years: 13-1
#5 Cobble Beach: 7/2
#10 Broadies Song: 12-1
#7 Winning Dream: 7/2
#6 Fresh Dream: 9/5
That 4-5-10-7-6 combination returned $3,495.55 for a $1-based wager.
(WEG)
For a free, printable program page for Thursday's card of racing, courtesy of TrackIT, click here.
To view results for Monday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Monday Results – Woodbine Racetrack.