Fresh off a neck victory in the Preferred ranks last weekend at Woodbine Racetrack, five-year-old pacer Brave Alex Semalu doubled up with another narrow score in the $50,000 Open on Saturday night
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Leaving from the outside seven post, St Elmo Hero and Scott Zeron worked their way to command around the first turn and reached the opening quarter in :26.1.
Down the backstretch, Randy Waples sent Brave Alex Semalu off the rail from fourth while Jody Jamieson pulled the pocket with Ideal Choice. Jamieson's charge made the lead, but Brave Alex Semalu was hot on his heels and swept to the top by the :54.4 half-mile mark.
Brave Alex Semalu raced to three-quarters in 1:23.1 with the popular Sylvain Filion-driven Sparky Mark moving up to apply pressure. Brave Alex Semalu drew clear into the stretch, but the trailing Georgetown N, driven by J.R. Plante, was full of late pace and began to close in on the leading 5-2 second choice. However, Brave Alex Semalu managed to find the wire just in time for the 1:51.1 triumph. Georgetown N was a nose short and Ideal Choice finished a length behind in third.
Brave Alex Semalu paid $7.60 to win for the fifth time in 12 seasonal starts. The Yankee Cam-Signature Semalu gelding is trained by Ryan Maxwell and owned by the J And T Silva Stables LLC, Martin Scharf, Bramdeo Singh, and John Polvinale. The five-year-old notched his 17th career win and pushed his bankroll to $328,678.
One race prior, the Jody Jamieson-driven and Ben Wallace-trained Clic K notched his fifth straight win with a 1:51.2 effort. The four-year-old Shanghai Phil-Eclatante gelding was claimed two starts back on April for $62,500 by Ontario owners Bradley Grant of Milton and Aurora's Holland Racing Stable Inc.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Racetrack.