Monday turned out to be a good night for longshot players at Grand River Raceway, as high-priced horses clicked in the co-featured Preferred events at the half-mile oval
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Indiana Hall survived a first-over trip to take home top honours in the $10,000 Preferred Trot for trainer Ian Downey, and the veteran did so as an 8-1 outsider. Trevor Henry convinced the eight-year-old son of Striking Sahbra-Inverlochy to dig down deep in the final strides en route to hauling down the tempo-setting favourite, Chaplin Hall, by a nose in 1:58.2. Perfect Vacation closed well to finish third.
The gelding, who is owned by S S G Stables of North Boston, NY, won for the fifth time this season and for the 35th time in his career. He has banked in excess of $51,000 already this year, and that’s helped his lifetime total climb to $637,902.
Livefreeordiehard got off to a slow start in the $10,000 Preferred Pace for driver J.R. Plante, but a solid rally in the back half of the mile helped the six-year-old son of Western Hanover-Artomatic cruised to a one-length decision in a sharp time of 1:53.3. Part Shark laid down panels of :26.3, :56.2 and 1:24.2 in his quest to double up in the class, but he was no match for the hard-closing Livefreeordiehard in the stretch. A :28.3 final frame was more than enough for the Richard Moreau pupil to defeat runner-up Acceptable Risk, with Blissfull Breeze rounding out the top three in the eight-horse affair.
Sent off at odds of 18-1, Livefreeordiehard improved his 2011 record to 6-2-2 in 18 starts while lifting his seasonal earnings to $50,750. The 21-time winner, who has banked $342,850 to date, is owned by Janet Ho of Markham, ON.
To view results for Monday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Monday Results – Grand River Raceway.