For the second week-in-a-row there was no touching Natural Forces in the $13,200 Preferred Trot at The Raceway at The Western Fair District, but there was a big difference in his pari-mutuel return.
Sent off at 10-1 in last week’s 1:58.2 score, the four-year-old son of Lockkeeper-Janies Got A Gun returned to the London oval and clicked as the even-money favourite in the co-featured tilt.
Trainer/driver Skip De Mull tracked cover with Natural Forces in Monday’s assignment before powering off cover in the late stages of the mile. He swept past the tempo-setting Indiana Hall, who supplied the field with fractions of :27.3, :58.2 and 1:29.1 before tiring, and staved off a late challenge from Just Like Lloyd en route to the 2:00 decision. Third prize went to House Of Cash.
E C S Racing LLC of Rockford, MI owns the 25-time winner who now boasts a 4-1-2 record from 11 trips to the track this season. The lion’s share of the purse lifted his lifetime earnings to $209,128.
Rock On Moe was a front-stepping winner in the co-featured $13,200 Preferred for pacers for the tandem of driver Nick Steward and trainer Anthony Montini.
Starting from the second tier, Rock On Moe got away third while Audreys Dream and Royal Outlook battled to the quarter pole in :27.1 before the latter cleared to the position of command. Rock On Moe was on the move in the second quarter, and he accelerated to the lead shortly past the mid-way point in :57.2. He used a :28.1 third panel to get the field to the three-quarter pole in 1:25.3, and his :30.1 closing fraction was just enough to hold off the late-driving Audreys Dream by a neck in 1:55.4. Royal Outlook was third.
Sent off at odds of 4-1, Rock On Moe won for the second time this year from six trips postward. The career winner of nine races and purses in excess of $100,000 is owned by Albina Montini of Acton and Nikolas Drennan of Burlington, ON.
The 12-race card also featured a set of $8,400 Preferred-2 events, with P C Firecracker and Leafs And Wings defeating the foes they faced in those tilts.
P C Firecracker, who was sent off as the 4-5 favourite in the trotting affair, recovered from an early miscue to win in 2:01 for Team Clements. Curtis Clements got the four-year-old son of Amigo Hall-Promising Spark to reset after the miscue and they circled from seventh to first in the final quarter of the contest. The margin of victory was 1-1/4 lengths over Zorgwijk Jock, with Winkys Pride taking home the show dough. Time for the mile was 2:01.
Trainer Peter Clements co-owns the homebred with Amy Clements of Dobbington, ON. It was the first win of the season in two tries for the gelding who went 7-for-15 last year. The trotter is quickly closing in on $70,000 in career earnings.
Leafs And Wings turned a second-over trip into a 1:56.3 triumph in his assignment for the duo of driver Scott Wray and trainer Mike Rogers. Kendal Gustav shot to the lead and hung up a :28.2 opener before being pressed through middle splits of :57.2 and 1:26 by Im Feelin Good. Leafs And Wings accelerated off cover coming out of the final turn and used a :30.1 kicker to win by a half-length margin over Kendal Gustav. Im Feelin Good was a bang-up third.
Sent off at odds of 4-1, Leafs And Wings won for the second time this year and for the 20th time in his career. The career winner in excess of $230,000 is a homebred owned by Greg Rogers of Auburn Hills, MI.
To view results for Monday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Monday Results – The Raceway at The Western Fair District.