Stop Calling took advantage of a perfect pocket trip and the passing lane to edge out three other Open rivals at the wire in the Sunday afternoon feature event at Fraser
Downs.
When the starting gate closed in the $12,500 Open Handicap Pace, Killean Cut Kid (John Abbott) crossed over in front of inside assignee Stop Calling and trainer-driver John Hudon to establish the lead. Stop Calling played follow the leader through fractions of :27, :55.2, and 1:24 while Sir Arthur (Jim Marino) rallied three-wide around the parked out Gramrun Jake (Tim Brown) down the backstretch.
With Sir Arthur applying pressure to the leader into the stretch, Stop Calling zipped up the passing lane while Hollywood Warrior (Dave Hudon) rallied widest of them all. However, it was Stop Calling who prevailed by a neck in 1:53.2 while Sir Arthur, Hollywood Warrior and Killean Cut Kid were all within one length of the leader in a blanket finish. At Last (Kevin Anderson) was full of late pace, but couldn't find a clear path and ended up fifth.
Stop Calling paid $8.60 to win as the 3-1 second choice to last week's Open winner Primary Purpose (Rod Therres), who trailed early on after an outside Post 7 start and couldn't get into the race today.
The Kents On Nuke-Plain Image N gelding, owned by Dr. James Findlay of Maple Ridge, B.C., now sports a seasonal record reading 2-2-4 in nine starts. The six-year-old bay came within one-fifth of a second of his lifetime mark while notching win No. 20 and boosting his bankroll to $166,281.
In other Sunday racing action, the 'telephone' theme continued as Muriel Fornwald Memorial Stake winner Phone Terror turned in a career-best 1:55.3 triumph in her fillies & mares conditioning assignment. The three-year-old Western Terror-Miss Lex miss is now three-for-three this year for trainer-driver Serge Masse and local owner Lucy Raymond.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Fraser Downs.