Royal Beluga rewrote the aged trotting track record at Hiawatha Horse Park with a 1:54.4 mile in the $6,000 Wayne Bloomfield Memorial Trot on Saturday, June 20.
In winning the Preferred-3-Handicap-class event, he lowered the standard for an older gelding trotter that had stood since 2003 and gave driver Garrett Rooney his first of five wins on the day.
Royal Beluga slid back off the wings and was away sixth in the seven-horse field but did not drop to the pylons, instead following P C Peterbilt (Mark MacDonell) as that rival advanced uncovered through a :28.1 quarter. The Great Reset (Lorne House), stretched out to make the lead before the first station, yielded control before the :57.4 half as P C Peterbilt charged to the front and away from the rest.
Royal Beluga, now left without cover, rolled into second on the backstretch and took aim at P C Peterbilt, who led by four lengths at three-quarters in 1:25.3. Royal Beluga reeled in P C Peterbilt as the leader hit the wall on the last turn, blew by him, and stretched away to win by five lengths. P C Peterbilt was well clear in second with April Duford another 6-1/4 lengths back in third.
The 1:54.4 time shaved two-fifths of a second off the 1:55.1 mark set by double millionaire Abbey Road C and Bankable, both in July 2003. It was a tick off tying the overall trotting record, which was established by Highland Mowgli as a three-year-old in 2021.
Royal Beluga, trained by Pam Young, recorded a new lifetime mark with his eighth career win in 54 starts. Claimed by Young of London, Ont., Daniel Creighton of Strathroy, Ont., Dale Hunter of London, Ont. and Chase Clark of Corunna, Ont. in February, he is now four-for-19 this season. The five-year-old son of Tacitcal Landing-Tactical Caviar has earned $84,675 lifetime. He paid $3.80 to win.
Rooney also collected victories with Bettors Dream ($4.30), Lifting Legend ($14.40), Modern Writer ($5.30) and Docsphillycheese ($4.20). The reinsman, aiming for his fifth straight driving title at the Sarnia, Ont. oval, made major gains in the standings with his five-win day. Leader Robert Doyle and Lorne House, sitting second, both won twice on the 11-race card to up their totals to 14 and 12, respectively, while Rooney increased his tally to nine. The B-track maestro is 129-for-668 this season as he pursues a fifth straight year with more than 200 wins and $1 million in earnings.
To view Saturday’s harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Hiawatha Horse Park.
(Standardbred Canada)