Wrangler Magic and driver Louis-Philippe Roy pulled off a mild upset as they collared 3-5 favourite Sandbetweenurtoes at the finish line in the featured $30,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred Pace on Friday night (March 3) at Woodbine Racetrack.
One of three early leavers, Roy opted to tuck Wrangler Magic in third-place behind inside starter P L Hurricane (Randy Waples) while driver Doug McNair forged on with Sandbetweenurtoes to take over command into the first turn. The favourite carved out fractions of :27.1, :55.4 and 1:24.1 with the late-developing outer flow posing no serious threats. However, Roy had Wrangler Magic out and rolling down the stretch and they managed to reel in the leader for the 1:51.4 victory by a neck. Bernadette (James MacDonald) edged past P L Hurricane for third-place honours.
Sent postward as the 8-1 fourth wagering choice in the field of seven, Wrangler Magic paid $19.30 to win.
The victory was her first in Canada after starting the year at Yonkers Raceway for the Rene Allard stable and being scratched from this class last week at Woodbine. Wrangler Magic now boasts two wins and two seconds from six 2017 outings, with tonight's victory pushing the Grand Circuit stakes winner's career bankroll to $892,450.
The five-year-old Mach Three-Ja El Shamrock mare is owned by Allard Racing Inc. of Saint-Esprit, Que., Dr. Maurice Stewart of Leduc, Alta., and Kapildeo Singh of Yorktown Heights, New York.
Naughty Lady B (Sylvain Filion) was a 29-1 upset winner in the final race of the night, featuring the Jackpot Hi-5 wager. Finishing second through fifth and rounding out the 1-5-2-6-4 winning combination were Cayo Loco (Mike Saftic), J High (Billy Davis Jr.), Aintsheasweetie (Jame MacDonald) and D Gs Pesquero (Jonathan Drury). The Jackpot Hi-5 carryover for Saturday's card is $531,561.22.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Racetrack.