Brandon Campbell put the finishing touches on his Fraser Downs driving title for the winter/spring meet with a five-win performance on Friday night (May 5) that included a sweep of the $50,000 Penny Bath and Keith Linton Memorial sophomore stakes for the Jim Marino stable.
The fillies were up first and Side Piece ($2.60) was a wire-to-wire winner in the Bath Memorial.
Sent postward as the 1-5 favourite from the inside post, Side Piece and Campbell took control off the gate and cruised through fractions of :27.3, :57.4 and 1:25.4 before opening up 2-3/4 lengths en route to the 1:54.2 triumph. Rod Therres trainees rounded out the top three as Stonebridge Jade (Allan Molloy) chased in second and Custard Or Nothing (Therres) retreated to third off the final turn after trying it first-up down the backstretch.
Side Piece is now perfect in two starts this year after capping off her four-for-six freshman campaign as the B.C. Breeders Stakes divisional champion. Marino trains and co-owns the Shadow Play-Queen Otra filly, who surpassed the $100,000 career earnings mark, with breeder J J J Stables.
Domi ($2.60) left the colts behind turning for home in the Linton Memorial and landed Campbell and Marino back in the spotlight for the finale.
Gapped off the gate from post two at the start, 2-5 favourite Domi got away third for Campbell as stablemate Shots Fired (Phil Hudon) fired out to the early lead into a :26.1 first quarter with Son Of A Beach (John Abbott) crossing into the pocket spot. As the field headed down the backstretch after a :55.4 half, Domi swept to the top and took off to three-quarters in 1:24.3. He continued to extend his lead through the stretch and lowered his lifetime mark to 1:53.3. Micki Mantle (David Hudon) was left uncovered down the backstretch when Domi cleared to command and took up the chase to finish three lengths behind in second while Dillon James (Allan Molloy) won a photo for show over the wide-drifting Handsome Dan (Scott Knight).
Domi earned his fifth win of the season from nine starts and lifted his career bankroll to $65,905. The Living It Up-Outlaecherishafool gelding was acquired by Marino, J J J Stables and partner Paul Sanders in mid-February.
Prior to the stakes action, Campbell also drove winners Radar Enforced ($5.20) for trainer Alina MacLeod, Chaseminkifyoudare ($5.80) for Jeffery Watlenburgh and Ponggo ($5.70) for Blaine Chappell. He ended the meet with 92 wins atop the driver standings. With three victories on Friday's nine-race card, Scott Knight pushed his win total at the meet to 37 and moved into second-place over an injured Kelly Hoerdt with 35 wins.
With his stakes double on the meet-closing card, Marino tied Kelly Hoerdt for the training title. Both horsemen sent out 46 winners during the 28-day meet that began in February. Rod Therres and Chris Lancaster tied for third with 19 wins each.
Friday's undercard included a pair of $9,500 Preferred pacing divisions, which were won by Wits Beach ($6.70) and Redstone Arsenal ($3.30).
Veteran pacer Buddys Hope (Brandon Campbell) gunned off the gate from post five for the early lead in the first division, but 2-1 second choice Wits Beach drove on to take over by the quarter in :27.3 for Scott Knight. The Darren Poloway trainee remained in control through middle splits of :57.3 and 1:25.2 and held clear of Buddys Hope and late closer Pureform Mr Toffee (Phil Hudon) for the 1:54.1 victory. Poloway shares ownership of the six-year-old Sunshine Beach gelding with Donald Ross.
After a :26.4 opener, Lorne Duffield's Redstone Arsenal rushed up from fourth to take command in front of the grandstand the first time. Driven by John Chappell, the four-year-old Huntsville gelding led the field to the half in :55.4 then began to extend his lead on the way to three-quarters in 1:23.2 and kept on rolling to a blowout victory in 1:51.1. Vertical Squirt (Clint Warrington Jr.) won the race for place, edging out Waitin Ona River (Kevin Anderson) and Redneck Jim (Brandon Campbell) in a photo finish more than 11 lengths behind the popular winner trained by Chris Lancaster.
Racing will resume at Fraser Downs on Sept. 14 with the fall meet running through Dec. 15. Click here for the complete race date schedule.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Fraser Downs.