West Coast Beach held off his popular rival Itll Be Fine and stablemate Tzilacatzin in a photo finish to win his second straight $10,000 Open Handicap Pace and kick off a trio of training wins for Rebecca Kanak on the Friday, April 12 card at Fraser Downs.
Driven by Kelly Hoerdt, West Coast Beach charged off the gate with Itll Be Fine (Dave Hudon) from the middle of the gate and overtook that rival in the first turn, hitting the quarter in 27 seconds flat. West Coast Beach led the way to the half in :56.4 with the field following in single file until his stablemate Tzilacatzin (Brandon Campbell) was flushed first-up from fourth on the way to the three-quarters in 1:25.2 and looked like the major danger before Itll Be Fine launched his attack in the passing lane. With those rivals closing in on both sides down the stretch, West Coast Beach dug in for the win, prevailing by a neck in 1:54 flat. Itll Be Fine, the 4-5 favourite looking to rebound after three straight top-class wins last month, had to settle for second with Tzilacatzin third.
West Coast Beach, who has won half of his six starts this season, was the 2-1 second choice and paid $6.70 to win.
Kanak shares ownership of the eight-year-old gelding by Sunshine Beach out of Village Janus, with Timothy Gordon of Spruce Grove, Alta. The win was the pacer's 35th successful start and lifted his career earnings to $236,239.
Kanak trainees also swept the late Daily Double with Brandon Campbell guiding Loaded Dragon ($2.50) and Dillon James ($4.50) to victory lane in their respective assignments to close out the nine-race card. The Saskatoon, Sask. horsewoman is now 24-for-46 on the year, leading the Fraser standings with more than double the wins of her closest competitor -- Kelly Hoerdt, with 10 victories -- and ranking among the top 10 trainers for wins nation-wide.
Another Kanak trainee, More Monet, just missed by a neck in the passing lane as trainer Erik Neyhart's Tahuya Devil ($2.30) kept his win streak alive when he held off that pocket pursuer in a $7,000 conditioned pace. Driven by Scott Knight, the five-year-old son of American Ideal-Sweet Devil equalled his lifetime mark of 1:53 while improving to five-for-five at the current Fraser meet and earning his sixth straight victory.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Fraser Downs.
(Standardbred Canada)