The Wall pulled off a 12-1 upset in rein to Joe Bongiorno in the $157,000 Camluck Classic Invitational, presented by Seelster Farms, which closed out the meet at The Raceway at Western Fair District on Friday night (May 31).
Trained by Nick Surick for owner J L Benson Stables, the five-year-old son of Somebeachsomewhere made his move in the backstretch after avoiding trouble in the first turn and overtook the favoured Confederaton Cup winner Done Well in the stretch to score the 1:52 victory. Rockin Speed closed off The Wall's cover and came up just short in a solid runner-up effort. Defending Camluck Classic champion and track record holder Rockin Ron finished third ahead of Done Well.
Sent postward as the 1-5 favourite following his Confederation Cup victory, Done Well (Dexter Dunn) fired out from post two into a :27 opening quarter with inside starter Ideal Jimmy (Brent Holland) attempting to leave and breaking stride in the first turn while taking Southwind Amazon (Dave Palone) out of contention in the process.
Done Well proceeded to carve out middle splits of :56 and 1:23.4 followed by Rockin Ron (Louis-Philippe Roy), with The Wall on the move from third down the backstretch and 26-1 longshot Rockin Speed (Billy Davis Jr.) following second-over.
The Wall went head-to-head with Done Well turning for home and took over command down the stretch to prevail by a half-length ahead of the oncoming Rockin Speed.
"I saw the boys getting a little tight in the first turn and I saw Erv [Miller]'s horse [Ideal Jimmy] got hard on the left line and I saw him starting to tip over and Brent was just trying to do what he said, trying to go down the road," said Bongiorno of the early commotion. "Basically, at that point he was looped. He gave him a shot and he just went off stride and took Dave out with him and, thankfully, I got around them.
"Listen, this horse has been opening people's eyes all year," he continued. "People don't think he really belonged for a while and he's just proven now that he really does.
"I knew the horse has been really good and I knew he took a lot tougher trip than that when he was at Chester. There's not enough words... Nick's done a phenomenal job with this horse. The horse is just finally proving himself."
The Wall returned $27.90 to win after being overlooked by the betting public as the second-longest shot on the board in the field that was reduced to six with the scratches of Sintra and Trump Nation.
He entered The Raceway's signature race following a third-place finish in the Commodore Barry, race timed in 1:49.4, over Harrah's Philadelphia last Sunday and previous seasonal wins in the George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series at Yonkers Raceway.
The Wall now has 16 career wins and more than $430,000 in purse earnings. He will be looking to add to his credentials in the coming weeks with the Cleveland Classic and Mohawk Gold Cup on his radar.
City Of London Series Finals & Ontario Sires Stakes Fill Undercard
Stephen Palermo’s Raising Royalty ($4) improved his sophomore record to three-for-three when he kicked off Camluck Classic Night in the first of four City of London Series finals. Driven by Marc St. Louis, the Stephen Bossence trainee wore down fellow Royalty For Life sophomore Warrawee Usain in the final strides of the $26,600 male trot division for the 1:59.4 victory.
Trained by Luc Blais for the Determination stable, Absynthe Hanover ($5.60) inherited the lead and never looked back en route to her second career win after early leaver Holiday Harlot broke stride into the first turn. With Scott Young in the bike, the three-year-old Kadabra filly trotted away down the stretch to win the $24,200 female trot final by three lengths in a two-minute mile.
In the $31,600 filly and mare pacing division, the undefeated Andrew McCabe trainee Significance ($10.50) extended her win streak to five after launching from the pocket and downing pacesetter Evas Sports Czech in the stretch then holding off the favoured Sporty Tori in a career-best clocking of 1:56.2. The three-year-old Mach Three filly was driven to victory by Colin Kelly for owners Cheryl Cherry and Glenview Livestock Ltd.
With Dexter Dunn picking up the live catch-drive, favourite Silas Seelster ($3.80) overtook stablemate Missile Seelster and Trevor Henry near the quarter-pole and held clear to score in 1:55 flat giving trainer Dr. Ian Moore a 1-2 finish in the $31,400 final for male pacers. The three-year-old gelded son of Shadow Play has now won three of his last four races for owners Shadow Two Stable, Hudson Standardbred Stable Inc., and Irwin Stables Inc.
The City of London Series is for Ontario-sired horses that are non-winners of $10,000 lifetime as of February 28.
The undercard also featured the opening round of the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots for three-year-old pacing fillies, consisting of $22,800 divisions won by Freya Seelster ($3.30), So Much More ($5.80), Pazza Hanover ($26.80), Charmbo Brie ($4), Crisp Mane ($5.10), Royalty Again ($17.30) and Behavenmyself ($7.40). For a full recap of the OSS action, click here.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - The Raceway.