Seventeen sophomore trotting fillies battled at Woodbine Racetrack on Thursday evening in round two of the Celias Counsel Series, and for the second week-in-a-row Lexus Helios and Im On Cloud Nine were the stars of the show
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Lexus Helios, a homebred daughter of Ken Warkentin-Lexus Hall, went from being a stunning upsetter in round one of the series to being the most popular gal in town.
She was sent off the second choice in the wagering when the gate sped away, but she wound up being the favourite when the post time choice, Holy Molie Maggie, made a break behind the gate and was ruled to be outside the fair start pole. She was later refunded, and as a result Lexus Helios wound up being the 1-5 favourite.
Saftic hustled Lexus Helios right to the front from Post 7, and the filly led the group through fractions of :28, :58.4 and 1:29.4 before using a :28.1 final frame en route to the 1:58 score. Cynthia Loo was 7-1/2 lengths behind the winner, with third prize going to Belle Nana.
Bred, owned and trained by Norm Dunstan of Caledon Village, ON, Lexus Helios improved her 2012 record to 2-0-0 from three trips postward. She has stashed $25,350 to date.
Im On Cloud Nine, who was a 1:57.1 winner in week one of the series, used her closing skills to take Thursday’s second division in a time of 1:57.2 for driver Jack Moiseyev and trainer Kevin O’Reilly.
The daughter of Angus Hall-Celebrity Angus, who started from Post 9, got away seventh while Fiorentina led the field to the quarter in :28.1 before relinquishing the top spot to Justasmalltowngirl. She held a narrow lead at the mid-way point in :58 while feeling first-over pressure from Casino Kate. Justasmalltowngirl put away that foe and continued to lead the field to the three-quarter pole in 1:28. Race favourite Sugar Wheeler was first over at that point, and Im On Cloud Nine was poised to move from second over.
Moiseyev dropped Im On Cloud Nine inside of Sugar Wheeler in the closing strides, and the week-one winner used a :28.1 closing panel to secure the win by a neck over Sugar Wheeler. Justasmalltowngirl grabbed the show dough.
W Donovan of Ft. Lauderdale, FL owns the lightly-raced winner, who is now two-for-two this season and three-for-seven in her career. The lion’s share of the $15,000 purse bumped her bankroll to $49,040.
Both of Thursday’s divisional winners will be on the lookout for the series sweep in the $50,000 final on April 23.
To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results – Woodbine Racetrack.