Three-year-old pacing fillies Goodmorning Nova and Zendayas Firstlady headlined the second round of Atlantic Sires Stakes on Sunday afternoon, June 16 at Inverness Raceway.
With the inside post advantage in the first of two $12,980 'A' divisions, 1-4 favourite Goodmorning Nova (pictured above) and driver Gilles Barrieau took control of the field off the gate and led the way through fractions of :29.1, :59.1 and 1:28.4 with their lead expanding to three lengths. A first-over Plenty Of Purple (Corey MacPherson) posed no threat on the backside, but first leg winner Fern Hill Indigo (Brodie MacPhee) gave it a go from the pocket turning for home only to lose a photo finish for the win as the Ashley Gamester-trained Goodmorning Nova held on by a head in 1:57.4. Galway Girl (Marc Campbell) finished third over Plenty Of Purple.
Coming off a 1:55.1 career-best victory in the Donnie & George Turner Memorial Stakes on June 2 at Truro Raceway, Goodmorning Nova paid $2.70 to win as the bettors' choice.
The Arthur Blue Chip-Goodmorning Ky filly, who was the winner of Atlantic Breeders Crown Consolation as a two-year-old, improved her career summary to 8-3-1 from 14 starts with earnings surpassing $70,000 for breeder Melissa Banks of Summerside, P.E.I. and co-owner Jason Williams of McNeills Mills, P.E.I.
Leaving from the inside post in the second split, Zendayas Firstlady and Myles Heffernan Sr. established the lead through a :30.1 opening quarter and raced on to the half in 1:00.3, when Dusty Lane Dixie (Barrieau) launched her attack from fifth and went head-to-head with the pacesetter to three-quarters in 1:30. However, Zendayas Firstlady foughtly gamely to the finish to win by 1-1/4 lengths over that foe while equalling her 1:59.2 lifetime mark, with Windemere Saddy (Marc Campbell) locked in the pocket and settling for third. Favoured Chip Of Evil (MacPherson) closed from the backfield for fourth.
Overlooked at odds of 7-1, Zendayas Firstlady returned $16.70 for the mild upset.
An Atlantic Breeders Crown champion at two, the Arthur Blue Chip-Sunset City miss is two-for-four this year, with both of her victories coming in Sires Stakes action. She now has a career record reading 4-4-2 from 15 starts with $43,237 banked for trainer Stephen Quinn and owner John Quinn of Charlottetown, P.E.I.
A pair of $6,000 B divisions went the way of Joseph Baxter trainee Woodmere Luna (Arthur Blue Chip-Shadow Dancer), who rolled past the duelling leaders in the stretch for a 2:01.1 victory in rein to Marc Campbell, and the 2:02.3 maiden-breaking, wire-to-wire winner Waterford Girl (E L Rocket Barefoot Contessa) for driver Redmond Doucet and trainer/breeder Andrew Campbell.
The Atlantic Sire Stakes sophomore pacing fillies will meet up next at Northside Downs on June 29.
The weeky $2,000 Winners Over for the track's top pacers was won by 2-5 favourite American Risk and driver Paul Langille in 1:56.2 as they retook the lead from Sunshine Lou (Danny Gillis) after a :27.4 quarter and were untouchable the rest of the way, leading through middle splits of :56.4 and 1:26.3. Delightful Wine (Marc Campbell) chased after the 4-1/4-length winner to finish second while Eastcoast Invader (Monica Sutherland) rounded out the top three.
A six-time winner last year, the eight-year-old American Ideal-Kissing Bandit gelding shipped in from Truro and scored his first victory of the season in four outings for trainer George Rennison and Risky Bizz Group to close out the day's action.
The 12-race program got off to a rough start when two horses hooked wheels behind the gate in the opener. Driver John MacDougall was unseated during the incident and his horse, Riverville Gambler, got loose. Mr Lazz and John MacDonald remained upright.
An individual identified as caretaker and owner Melanie Leblanc tried to assist in catching the loose horse and was struck by the horse and run over, requiring medical attention on track. The track announcer reported that Leblanc was conscious when transported to hospital for assessment.
MacDougall was also taken to hospital for further examination.
Riverville Gambler was scratched after eventually being corralled. When the card proceeded after a 45-minute delay, Mr Lazz and MacDonald went on to win the race.
Further updates will be provided if made available.
Please join Standardbred Canada in wishing John MacDougall and Melanie Leblanc a full and speedy recovery.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Inverness Raceway.
(Standardbred Canada)