Off the 7-5 favourite, Sporty Tori persisted through a first-over grind to put away her competition and win the $12,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred 2 & 3 Pace at The Raceway at Western Fair District on Wednesday (May 4).
Away third to a :28 first quarter, driver Garrett Rooney angled the six-year-old Sportswriter mare off the pegs and challenged pacesetter Miss Rockadali into a :57.4 half. She continued to dig into the leader before grabbing the front after three-quarters in 1:26 and spurting clear from there, opening 5-1/4 lengths to the finish of a 1:55.2 mile to best Ladies From Hell, who tracked the winner’s cover but gave chase for second. Laila Blue finished third and Miss Rockadali faded to fourth.
A homebred for M&s Racing Stable Inc., Sporty Tori won her third race from 17 starts this season and her 24th from 96 overall. Gordon McKnight trains the winner of $248,449 who returned $4.60 to win.
To view Wednesday’s harness racing results, click the following link: Wednesday Results – Western Fair Raceway.