If you’re a trotting fan, then there’s a good chance you kept close tabs on the Monday evening action from Woodbine Racetrack as square gaiters were in the spotlight in the $50,000 final of the General Brock Series and the opening round of the Celias Counsel Series
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All eyes were on the 3-5 favourite, Undercover Strike, following last week’s 1:53.4 score, but it was Mike Saftic who engineered the upset decision with a pylon-skimming Revenue Agent. The Jeff Miller pupil snuck through the inside in deep stretch to win in 1:56.
Undercover Strike shot to the lead as expected, and after setting first-half fractions of :27.2 and :56.4 he felt pressure from Incredable Frank around the final turn. Those two trotters butted heads to the three-quarter pole in 1:26.4, and they continued that battle into the stretch. Incredable Frank started to level off in mid-stretch and Undercover Strike began to bear out while tiring, and that left Saftic with a golden opportunity to shoot up the rail with Revenue Agent. The four-year-old son of Revenue S did exactly that, and as a result he was rewarded with his first win of the season in four attempts. Undercover Strike held on for second, with Incredable Frank taking home third prize.
“We wanted to race him from off-the-pace like we did last week,” said Saftic. “Everything worked out good, I got him off easy and got good fractions up the backside. Then all those horses started running and we just kind of weaved through and got up the inside. We had some racing luck there.
“I think his stamina is his best quality,” he added. “He seems to be able to finish, but he is still green. He is a little anxious early in the race, but then he settles down. He does act like a horse that can develop into a nice older horse.”
The four-year-old son of Revenue S-Caviar And Pearls is a homebred owned by Michael Creps and Kevin Greenfiled of Perrysburg, OH. Together they’ve watched the gelding pick up eight lifetime wins while banking over $90,000 along the way.
Im On Cloud Nine survived a Judges’ inquiry to take the first of two $20,000 divisions in the opening leg of the Celias Counsel Series for the tandem of driver Jack Moiseyev and trainer Kevin O’Reilly. The three-year-old daughter of Angus Hall-Celebrity Angel sat third and stalked Fiorentina through early fractions of :28 and :58.2 before brushing past that foe going into the final turn. Im On Cloud Nine zipped past the three-quarter pole in 1:28 before using a :29.1 final frame to out-kick runner-up Winbak Maya. Crystal Rayne was third. Time for the mile was 1:57.1.
The inquiry sign was promptly posted by the ORC Judges who took a look at a possible pylon violation committed by Im On Cloud Nine around the final turn. After reviewing replays, ORC Judges claimed the trotter went inside one pylon but failed to gain an unfair advantage by doing so. The official sign was posted shortly thereafter.
W Donovan of Ft Lauderdale, FL owns Im On Cloud Nine, who was making her first start of the season after putting together a 1-1-0 record during a five-start rookie campaign. The $10,000 payday lifted the filly’s overall earnings to $34,040.
Lexus Helios pulled off a 35-1 shocker in the second division thanks to her maiden-breaking tally for driver Mike Saftic. The lightly-raced filly rallied in the lane to knock off heavily-favoured Holy Molie Maggie in 1:57.1.
Lexus Helios, who got away third, watched Ithinkshestheone take the field to the quarter-pole in :27.4 before giving way to race favourite Holy Molie Maggie in the second quarter. The public’s top choice led through middle panels of :58.3 and 1:28.2, but she couldn’t fend off the late-charging Lexus Helios who used a :28.2 final frame to prevail by half a length over Holy Molie Maggie. Sugar Wheeler took home the show dough.
Bred, owned and trained by Norm Dunstan of Caledon Village, ON, Lexus Helios won for the first time in three tries while pushing her lifetime earnings to $10,350.
The $30,000 second leg of the Celias Counsel Series is slated for Thursday, April 12, with the $50,000 final scheduled for Monday, April 23.
(With quotes from WEG)
To view results for Monday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Monday Results – Woodbine Racetrack.