Scratchin An Itch upset with a strong stretch rush, and Delta Sunrise went coast-to-coast as they won their respective $9,700 feature paces on Tuesday, Mar. 3 at The Raceway at the Western Fair District.
Scratchin An Itch started last as the longest shot on the board at 24-1 in the conditioned co-headliner for horses and geldings. Lorne House had the four-year-old son of Sunfire Blue Chip-Straightoutabuxton sixth of six through the early fractions of :29.1 and :59.4 set by Dont Poke The Bear (Samuel Fillion). Scratchin An Itch shifted out third-over as the group turned towards the backstretch and followed cover to three-quarters in 1:29.2 as Dont Poke The Bear duelled up front with Arundel Hanover (Nick Steward). The eventual winner tipped three-high as they rounded the final turn, and he rocketed past his rivals on the outside in the stretch to prevail by two lengths in 1:59. Laser (Brady Galliers) rolled up the cones for second, and the battle between Dont Poke The Bear and Arundel Hanover ended in stalemate as they dead-heated for third.
Scratchin An Itch was resuming after a month away as he snagged his second win of the year in five attempts. He is now six-for-41 lifetime with $69,721 in earnings. Scott McNiven trains the gelding for owner-breeders Lenore and Eric Prince of North Buxton, Ont. The winner returned $50.60.
Trainer-driver Dave Kelly used opposite tactics with Delta Sunrise in the optional-claiming co-feature for fillies and mares. The three outside horses in the seven-horse field charged abreast into the first turn, and Delta Sunrise leveraged her inside positioning among that group to take control in a :28.1 first panel. Voom Voom (Jay Harris) raced first-up through the half in :57.4, stalling the outer flow as they came onto the backstretch, allowing Delta Sunrise to maintain a 1-3/4-length cushion to three-quarters in 1:27.1. Pocket-sitter Yoda Queen (Andy Moore) chased the leader around the last turn, and a host of horses got in gear late, but Delta Sunrise held a one-length margin to the wire for a 1:57.3 victory. Yoda Queen finished second over Ladyterra (Garrett Rooney).
Delta Sunrise is now two-for-seven on the year and has won 10 of 59 career races and earned $100,887. The five-year-old daughter of Bjs Bequia-Bettah is owned by Kelly, Nina Randall of Standard, Alta., and Donald McDougall of Calgary, Alta. The win price was $7.70.
Ladies From Hell ($2.70), The Raceway’s 2025 Horse of the Year, scored her first victory of the year in an $8,200 optional-claiming pace. Driven by Garrett Rooney for trainer Mike Sumner, the 12-year-old mare won by a half-length in 1:58.2 to improve to one-for-five on the season. Mike Sumner co-owns her with Shae Sumner.
To view Tuesday’s harness racing results, click the following link: Tuesday Results - Western Fair Raceway.
(Standardbred Canada)