It was a good Friday night (June 21) for veteran driver Brian Gray who won three, including a pair of feature races at Cornerstone Raceway in the city.
Gray said it was a case of his horses being ready and being in the right races.
"Short fields and when we went we were in just the right place," he said with a smile.
It helped too that the track was in great shape. Gray said they added some surface to the track, and enough rain helped firm things up.
"It's the best the track has been in a couple of years," he said.
Gray's first win of the night came in the Yorkton This Week Feature, piloting Ms Julia Rose to top spot over Richard Remillard with Radar Alert and Dallas McGee with Merlins Magicmaker.
"She (Ms Julia Rose) is probably going to get a little bit better … a bit braver," he said, adding Friday, "she stepped up with a good time tonight. I was surprised at the time (2:02)."
In the Capital Kia Feature, Gray was back for the win with Best For Blues, topping McGee with Tackie Toe and Garett Isman with Ignite The Spark.
"He's (Best For Blues) still enough he can get it done," said Gray, adding the win came after a slower opening half which left his horse with something to finish.
Stagger Lee gave Gray his third win in the eighth over Kevin Siever with Mystery Road and Remillard with Miss Tinkerbelle.
Gray said Stagger Lee is not the race horse she once was, but on a given night, she can still carry the pace to stay in contention, and given a hole, to drive to a win. He added when she's in contention late Stagger Lee can still find a bit extra to make a push for this finish line.
Remillard also cashed in with three wins Friday, including Burnt On Top in the second, Oblivious Boy in the SaskTel Feature, and Winwood Thunder in the Yorkton New Holland Feature.
To view the harness racing results for Friday at Yorkton, click the following link: Friday Results - Yorkton Exhibition.
(A Trot Insider exclusive by Calvin Daniels)