Come Back Does Just That In The Count B Series

Come Back was an easy repeat winner in The Count B Pacing Series for three-year-old colts and geldings on Friday night at Woodbine Racetrack while the other $20,000 division went to Willies Place in a hard fought decision

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Come Back used his patented early speed to full advantage in the first division and jetted straight to the front from Post 6 through a :26.3 first fraction. Once on top, the son of I Am A Fool got plenty of respect through middle-half splits of :56 and 1:25.4.

That breather was all Come Back needed as he rebuffed all challengers with a :27.4 final frame to win by 1-1/2 lengths for Jack Moiseyev in 1:53.3. Totally Empressive (Randy Waples) finished a following second with Lake Shark (Mark MacDonald) rallying to pick up the show spot. The winner returned a popular $3.30 for the victory.

It was the second straight victory for Come Back, who won seven of nine starts last season as a rookie for trainer Tim Gillespie. The winner’s share of the purse boosted his earnings to just shy of $60,000 for owner Len Kordy of Kingston, Ont.

In the second division, Willies Place sat third throughout most of the mile for driver Jody Jamieson and watched Mambo Italiano (Paul MacDonell) lead past the half in :56.3. As the field raced into the far turn, Willies Place was brought wide to engage the pacesetter and the top pair battled neck and neck the rest of the way with Willies Place getting the upper hand over his rival right at the wire in 1:53.4.

It was two more lengths back to Lil Bit Lil Bit (Sylvain Filion), who finished third. The winner returned $5.80 as the second choice in the wagering.

The win was the second in just four starts this season for the son of Artsplace - Up Front Norma, who is trained by Kris Di Cenzo for owner Antonio Chiaravalle of Hamilton, Ont.

The $60,000 final of The Count B Pacing Series will go postward next Friday night at Woodbine.

To view Friday's results, click here.

(With files from WEG)