Cougar Hall and driver Jack Moiseyev shared the spotlight on Saturday night at Woodbine Racetrack winning the Toronto track's top conditioned pace.
The sixth race was the feature event of the night for non-winners of $28,000 in the last five starts and the favourite didn't disappoint.
Dropping from the Preferred ranks, Modern Legend (James MacDonald) fired off the gate from the outside post 10 into a :26.1 opening quarter and proceeded to lead the field to the half in :56.2. Daddy Warbucks (Phil Hudon) followed in second with stallion Dali (Luc Ouellette) getting away third in his return race followed by Wazzup Wazzup (Randy Waples).
Down the backstretch, Machal Jordan (Roger Mayotte) advanced first over from mid-pack with Cougar Hall following his cover.
Machal Jordan quickly took over command while Cougar Hall continued to advance up alongside the new leader towards the 1:24 third quarter mark and drew clear into the stretch. The 9-5 bettors' choice then held off a persistent Machal Jordan down the lane for the half-length victory in 1:51.4. Daddy Warbucks rounded out the top three finishers two lengths behind.
Cougar Hall's third and fastest win in five seasonal starts boosted his 2014 bankroll to $43,100. A 12-time winner lifetime, he has now earned $154,590 in purses.
The four-year-old son of Somebeachsomewhere is trained by Jeff Gillis, who also co-owns with Gerald Stay, Mac Nichol, Thomas Kyron and Carl Jamieson.
Cougar Hall paid $5.80 to win.
Driver Mike Saftic book-ended the 11-race Saturday card with two wins while Randy Waples' driving double brought him within one win of the 6,000 career-win mark.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Racetrack.