For the third week in a row, R Lil King won his Preferred assignment – this time the $13,500 Preferred Pace - with driver Don Rankin Jr., who also won the $10,000 Preferred 2 Pace with his own pupil Cash Only Please on Saturday at Hiawatha Horse Park
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Favourite Prince Val (Brad Forward) crossed over in front of R Lil King and Don Rankin Jr. for the lead in the $13,500 Preferred Pace and cut early fractions of :26.4 and :56.2 while Secret Weapon (Mark Williams) applied first over pressure, going head-to-head with him at the 1:24 three-quarter mark. Digging in, Prince Val shook off his challenger, but R Lil King surged home in :28.1 for the victory, holding off Greystone Cash (Mike Sumner), who rallied off cover to finish a quarter-length behind. Prince Val was third. The winning time of 1:52.3 was a season’s best for R Lil King, who is trained and co-owned by Rod Boyd and the Feet First Stable of Cambridge, ON.
R Lil King paid $8.70 to win as the 3-1 third choice. The five-year-old son of Western Maverick-Elle Getty has recorded four wins in 10 starts this year for $26,050 in earnings.
Rankin Jr. also won the $10,000 Preferred 2 Pace with Cash Only Please, who after being shuffled back to fifth used a :27.4 final quarter to come on for the 9-1 upset. The seven-year-old son of Cambest-First Taste won in 1:54.2 by a half-length over the pocket-sitting Tattlers Top Gun (Mark Pezzarello). U Know Ugot It (Robert Sparling Jr.) finished back in third. The favourite, Donegal Mac (Brad Forward), carved out all the fractions,: 27.2, :57.3 and 1:25.4, but made a costly break in the stretch and finished last.
Cash Only Please paid $20.40 to win. Owned by Rankin Jr., he has won four races in 15 starts this season and $22,766.
Rankin Jr. also won the opener for a driving hat trick.
To view Saturday’s results, click here.