The first leg of the Simcoe Claiming Series kicked off tonight at Georgian Downs with Cons In Victory, Coochie Lane, and Hrs Miller Gold each winning
their respective $6,000 divisions.
Cons In Victory posted an 11-1 upset in the first division for trainer and driver William Rankin after leading from start to finish. The eight-year-old gelded son of Mr Vic left sharply from Post 5 and pulled away from the pack by three lengths at the first quarter. Starjest (Darryl Munro) shortened that gap from the two-hole through the remaining panels. As Cons In Victory led down the stretch, Csi Lucky In Love (Simon Allard) attempted to take all the glory, but Cons In Victory held on by a nose to win in 2:02.1. Csi Lucky In Love and Starjest finished second and third.
The win was the bay’s third of the year and 25th of his career upping his bankroll to over $132,000 for Brenda Rankin of Dundas, Ont.
The second division went to the David Jim King trained Coochie Lane, who prevailed by two and a quarter lengths in 2:00.3. Driven by Mike Langdon, Coochie Lane got away fourth but was on the move before the half and after battling with the early pacesetter and 3-2 favourite, Lindy Five Hundred (Anthony MacDonald), he settled on top by three quarters. Coochie Lane, the 9-5 second choice, then sprinted home for the win with Get Er Done (Paul MacKenzie) following to finish second and longshot Royal Oak Drive (Keith Jones) coming on for show.
The eight-year-old gelded son of Lindy Lane notched his third win of the season and ninth of his career. Owned by Dale Betts of Emsdale, Ont., Coochie Lane has earned over $71,000.
In the final division, post time favourite Hrs Miller Gold and driver Travis Bowman travelled first-over through early panels then settled in the pocket position through three-quarters. In the stretch, the 2-1 favourite popped out and sprinted home to win in 2:00.2 over longshot Muckross (Paul MacKenzie), who rallied for second, and the pacesetter, Pappa Pellegrino (Steve Byron), who faded to third.
Trained and owned in part by Ghyslain Gagne, the eight-year-old Donerail gelding scored his second win in four ’09 starts. Paul Bernard of Saint-Hyacinthe, Que. and Luc Ouellette of Campbellville, Ont. also own Hrs Miller Gold, whose 19th lifetime score lifted his bankroll over the $200,000 mark.
To view Saturday’s results, click here.