After just falling short of his third straight win against the top pacers in New Brunswick a week ago, Blood Money regained his spot on the throne with a dominant performance on Saturday (May 29) at Exhibition Park Raceway.
A compact of field of four comprised the Winners Over class, with Blood Money getting the majority of the public support. Dr. Mitch Downey hustled the favourite away from post two, clearing to the lead but challenged by Thankyouallmyfans (Todd Trites). Those two locked horns around the opening turn and into the backstretch, with Blood Money unrelenting on the lead. Whiskeytowine (Mike Downey) closed the gap to prevent Trites from dropping down to the rail through a :28.3 opening quarter, forcing Thankyouallmyfans to forge first-up and maintain pressure on the pacesetter through a :57.3 half.
Heading to five-eighths, Thankyouallmyfans couldn't sustain that pressure and his strides began to shorten. Second-over Woodmere Ideal Art (Robert Laffin) tipped three-wide around the tiring challenger, which was Downey's cue to flip the switch and seek separation from the foe that bested him a week ago. The third quarter was reached in 1:27.3 and Blood Money opened up on his rivals from there. A facile :29 closing quarter was more than enough as Blood Money tripped the timer in a seasonal best 1:56.3, with Woodmere Ideal Art more than four lengths in arrears.
Dr. Downey owns and Ellen Stevenson trains Blood Money (Sweet Lou - Blood Diamond), now a 12-time winner with three of those wins coming for his current connections.
The time of the mile was the fastest local mile time of the year, and matched in the very next race by the fleet four-year-old Little Manny and trainer/driver Stephen Trites.
Handle for the six-race card was $3,918. To view the results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Exhibition Park.