Cam On Mink, who was claimed each leg of the BBs Mirage Claiming Series, delivered for her newest connections winning the $20,000 final during Sunday afternoon's Harness The Hope card of harness racing at Fraser Downs.
Claimed for $12,500 from the Feb. 17 second leg by local owner Paul Sanders, Cam On Mink and trainer-driver David McKellar advanced to the lead in the featured ninth race after being parked out from post seven during the :28.3 opening panel. The five-year-old Camcracker mare cleared to command before the :58.2 half-mile mark and quickly opened up three lengths on the field. She hit three-quarters in 1:27 and cruised home to win in 1:57.2 over the sloppy track while widening her leading margin to five lengths. Garden Gate Storm and Michael Bourgeois chased her home in second while Real Vintage (Rod Therres) rounded out the top three finishers over 10 lengths behind.
Cam On Mink paid $15.60 to win for the first time in eight seasonal starts. The win, which followed up a runner-up effort and fourth-place finish in previous legs of the series, was her 12th lifetime and pushed her bankroll to $87,161.
For McKellar, it was his third of four training tallies on the card.
Fraser Downs also held its annual Powder Puff Derby for Harness The Hope, a fundraiser for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation presented by Nite of Hope, on Sunday afternoon. The Powder Puff featured a field of female drivers with Emily Leak defending her title in the non-wagering event, which was contested following the BBs Mirage.
Decked out in pink equipment and racing in jog carts, Leak pulled her mount, Kg Mattattack, from the pocket down the backstretch and drew off to win the Power Puff Derby for the second consecutive year. Cherie Paskaruk and her own pacer Told Ya Fred came on for second with Greener Pastures program coordinator Alina MacLeod and Ronnie Rickles finishing third. The winning time was 2:05.4.
Leak is the daughter of Ontario horseman Paul Megens. She spent the summer working with horses in Ontario and currently works at Fraser Downs grooming horses. Last year, she guided Shes Rarin to victory in the Powder Puff.
The other drivers in the race were Elizabeth Okum, Sandra Roberts, Margaret White and Paula Waterfield.
The winning pacer, Kg Mattattack, is an 11-year-old Island Fantasy gelding recently claimed by Victoria's Robert Collier and trained by Scott Knight.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Fraser Downs.