Driver Phil Giesbrecht swept the co-featured $50,000 sophomore stakes on Friday, April 26 at Fraser Downs with Ray Gemmill Memorial upset winner Phone Nine One One and Penny Bath Memorial champion Kootenay Cocoa, who equalled the divisional track record.
Kootenay Cocoa delivered on her 1-2 pari-mutuel promise in the $50,000 Penny Bath Memorial Pace for three-year-old fillies, matching the 1:52.3 divisional track record established in 2020 by Probert.
The homebred Beren Hanover-Kootenay Mystic filly is owned by Robert and Barbara Chadwick and trained by Kyle Chadwick.
After a recall was prompted when Vintage Lass (Kelly Hoerdt) broke stride behind the gate and caused interference to Great Emotion (Dennis Johnston), all six fillies in the field got a clean start in take two.
Giesbrecht gunned Kootenay Cocoa out from post five and crossed to command ahead of the Jim Marino-trained inside leaver, Over Ice (Scott Knight), reaching the quarter pole in :26 flat. Kootenay Cocoa cruised through middle splits of :55 and 1:23.2, and despite bearing out off the final turn, kept clear of Over Ice, handing last year's B.C. Breeders Stakes champion her first career loss by 1-3/4 lengths. Vintage Lass followed more than three lengths behind in third.
Kootenay Cocoa boasts a near-perfect record of 11 wins and one second-place finish from a dozen starts with nearly $60,000 in earnings. She paid $3 to win and $2.10 to place. There was no show wagering.
Earlier on the card, Marino trainee Phone Nine One One knocked off heavy favourite Buddy Knocks in the $50,000 Ray Gemmill Memorial Pace for three-year-old colts and geldings, shooting through the passing lane to prevail in a photo finish at odds of 12-1.
The stakes race was formerly called the Keith Linton Memorial.
Picking up the catch-drive, Giesbrecht left from post three in rein to Phone Nine One One with last year's B.C. Breeders Stakes champion Buddy Knocks (Scott Knight) working to clear from the outside five post through a :28.1 opening quarter. Buddy Knocks made front and the 1-9 favourite backed down the pace to the half in :58.4, leading the field in single-file fashion into the backstretch before Nothing Bugs Me (Rod Therres) moved underway from the back in pursuit of his leading stablemate. Those Rod Therres trainees were 1-2 turning for home, but Phone Nine One One closed through the passing lane and caught Buddy Knocks in the final strides for a new lifetime mark of 1:56 flat. Outlawstaythecourse (John Abbott) finished three-quarters of a length behind with Nothing Bugs Me fourth.
Phone Nine One One, who broke his maiden just three starts ago, returned $26.50 for the upset victory in the field that was scratched down to five.
The Custard The Dragon gelding, who is out of the stakes-winning mare Phone Terror, more than doubled his career bankroll to $47,875 for Marino and co-owners J J J Stables and Paul Sanders. Phone Nine One One now has two wins to go along with five seconds from 11 lifetime starts.
Phone Nine One One's winning owners also sent out Sunshine Boy to the pacer's third consecutive victory in the weekly $10,000 Preferred Handicap as the race played out in similar fashion to his two previous winning efforts in rein to Scott Knight.
Assigned outside of his four foes, 2-5 favourite Sunshine Boy landed on top despite begin stretched out through a :26.4 opener and proceeded to set middle splits of :55.3 and 1:23 en route to his 30th career victory in 1:52 flat. Itll Be Fine (David Hudon) followed 1-1/2 lengths behind in second while Armycaptin Hanover (Phil Giesbrecht) finished third after a first-over journey down the backstretch.
Fresh off a 1:51.2 career-best equalling victory a week ago, Sunshine Boy paid $2.80 to win and $2.20 to place. There was no show wagering.
The six-year-old Sunshine Beach-Betterfrombehind gelding now has seven wins and three seconds from 10 starts in the Preferred/Open ranks this year.
In between his stakes wins, Giesbrecht catch-drove Mylittle Gingerman ($5.80) for another Friday night victory over Sunset Rider in a 1-2 finish for David Hudon, who had a training triple as he also bookended the 10-race card with victories by Nothininmoderation ($23.30) and River Boat Spicey ($21.50).
The Fraser Downs spring/winter meet concludes next week with the final cards on Thursday and Friday.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Fraser Downs.
(Standardbred Canada)