The driver/trainer duo of Travis Henry and Gerard Demers swept the $12,000 features on Tuesday, April 8 at The Raceway at Western Fair District, scoring in the Preferred Trot with R Royal Port before taking the Preferred Pace with Wry in the finale.
Sent off as the co-favourite at 9-5, Henry and R Royal Port made quick work of the outside post seven in the feature trot, rocketing to an early lead before reaching the quarter pole in :28.3. Unchallenged to the half in :59, The Great Reset (Lorne House) moved first-over from fourth, before tucking back in the pocket at three-quarters as R Royal Port opened up at that marker in 1:28.3.
On the final turn, The Great Reset closed the gap to the Henry helmet while Marvin Hagler (Brett MacDonald) moved first-over to his outside in third. In the stretch, R Royal Port dug in gamely with a :30.2 final quarter to fend off The Great Reset, who squeezed between horses late by a quarter-length in 1:59. April Duford (Tyler Borth) rallied up the cones late to finish third, three parts of a length behind the winner.
A 13-time winner in 2024, the victory was the first of 2025 for R Royal Port (pictured above) in his second outing of the season. The six-year-old gelded son of Archangel-World Class Izzy is owned by La Ferme Tag Inc. of Papineauville, Que., and sports a career bankroll of $175,610.
In the Preferred Pace, Wry and Henry utilized a first-over brush in the middle half to give Demers the sweep of the Tuesday features.
Leaving from post three as the 8-5 second choice, Wry got away fourth early while P L Oliver (Tyler Borth) utilized the give-and-go to move around Ideal Perception (Anthony Haughan) to cut the quarter in :28. Wry tipped off the pylons and mover first-over into third at the half in :58 before powering alongside the leader on the backstretch. The two battled when P L Oliver drifted off the cones, causing interference with Wry, who quickly recovered and powered to a clear lead just beyond three-quarters in 1:26.3.
During the backstretch commotion, It Takes Two (Lorne House) split horses up the backstretch to move from sixth to second, giving chase to Wry turning for home at 23-1. The two slugged it out in the lane, with Wry digging in gamely to hold It Takes Two at bay by a half-length in 1:56. P L Oliver crossed the wire third, but was disqualified to seventh due to the backstretch incident, moving Ideal Perception to the show position.
Wry has won two of his last three since making the move to Western Fair for owner Yannick Marquis of Mascouche, Que. The five-year-old gelded son of Artspeak-Hobe Sound is a nine-time career winner with lifetime earnings of $187,175.
To view Tuesday's harness racing results, click the following link: Tuesday Results - The Raceway at Western Fair District.
(Standardbred Canada)