Richard Moreau trainees Dewar N Soda and Heels On The Beach swept the top two spots in Wednesday evening's featured $10,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred 2 Pace at Grand River Raceway.
With the inner advantage leaving from post two, Dixie Lullaby (Scott Coulter) secured the early lead ahead of her Kyle Fellows stablemate Maxim Seelster (Nick Steward), but Greystone Ladylike (Scott Young) pressed on to their outside and cleared at the :27.4 quarter pole. However, Dixie Lullaby moved right back out for the retake.
As Dixie Lullaby led the way past the half-mile mark in :56.3, driver Bob McClure made the winning move aboard the 6-5 favourite Dewar N Soda, with Heels On The Beach (Alfie Carroll) tracking the cover.
Dewar N Soda quickly moved into contention and went head-to-head with Dixie Lullaby past the 1:25.2 third quarter mark. She took over command in the stretch and won by two and a quarter lengths in 1:54.2 with Heels On The Beach taking the runner-up honours just ahead of late-closer Bet Ya (Jack Moiseyev) and race leader Dixie Lullaby.
Dewar N Soda paid $4.40 to win. The four-year-old mare by Badlands Hanover, who is owned by Gerrie Tucker and Majs NY Inc., now has 11 wins on her 53-race record with earnings amounting to $111,419.
The $7,500 Preferred 3 went to the Travis Henry-driven Alphabet Queen ($6.70), who retook the lead through a :27.4 first quarter and posted middle panels of :57.4 and 1:26.4 before holding off the favoured first-over challenger, Sr Beach Babe (Colin Kelly), at the end of the 1:55.2 mile in a photo finish. Solid Queen (Alfie Carroll) closed off cover to finish third ahead of early speedster Sandy Win (J Harris).
Alphabet Queen is a four-year-old Vintage Master mare owned by trainer Scott McNiven and Thomas Brodhurst. The win was the 10th and fastest of her career spanning 50 starts and bumped her bankroll to $64,597.
To view Wednesday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Wednesday Results - Grand River Raceway.