Tajmeallover continued her perfect four-year-old campaign while Wrangler Rockette won her first start of the season in the $6,000 eliminations for the Bev Sears Stakes on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Century Downs Racetrack and Casino.
The stakes event is for three and four-year-old pacing fillies and mares that are non-winners of $35,000 lifetime as of December 31, 2014. The $30,000 final will take place next Saturday, May 23 at Century Downs.
Both elimination winners overcame their trailing tier post positions and the sloppy track conditions to win by more than three lengths.
Sent postward as the 4-5 favourite boasting a previous win in the Prairie Girls Stakes, Tajmeallover delivered a 1:59.3 triumph in her elimination. The win was her sixth in a row this year.
Tajmeallover faced traffic trouble early on, but driver J.F. Gagne sent her three-wide down the backstretch from seventh and began to pick off rivals one by one. The daughter of Tajma Hall reached the top past the third-quarter mark and began to build an insurmountable lead around the final turn. G Ts Jamie (Bill Tainsh Jr.) came on for second while Sportsonthebeach (Travis Cullen), the leader off the gate, held on for third-place honours.
Marjorie Dumont trains the homebred mare, who is owned by Gagne, Peter Van Seggelen, Carl Warnaar and Joe Tinelli.
Wrangler Rockette won the fastest elimination in 1:58.3 and wrapped up a training-driving triple on the card for Kelly Hoerdt.
Wrangler Rockette managed to get a three-hole trip when a pair rivals leaving from their inner post positions broke stride early on. The 9-2 third wagering choice made her move after the half-mile mark and overtook the pacesetting Eliseuinthedust (Jamie Gray) before drawing off down the stretch. Prairie Girls Stakes winner Freesia (Gerry Hudon) was second off a pocket trip and favourite Blue Star Texas (Bobby Clark) finished third.
The season-debuting Brandons Cowboy mare is owned and bred by Dr. Maurice Stewart and Maureen Stewart.
Last in the outer flow, Sing Like An Angel swung widest of all and blew past her rivals in this week's $10,500 Fillies & Mares Open to nab the victory in 1:57 flat. Driven by Brandon Campbell, the popular Travis Cullen trainee prevailed by a quarter-length over pacesetter American Passion (Gerry Hudon) with Crackers Hot Shot (Rod Starkewski) finishing over two lengths back in third. Sing Like An Angel's stablemate, Feelin Flush (Cullen), regrouped from a miscue in the opening turn and finished sixth, within four lengths of the winner, in the competitive seven-horse field.
Sing Like An Angel is owned by Cullen and his mom Jodie, along with Keith and Margaret Hannah. The five-year-old Bettors Delight mare now has two (consecutive) wins and a second-place finish behind Feelin Flush at the first Century Downs meet.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Century Downs.