Inverness Raceway newcomer Mappos Lion made his season's debut a blowout victory in the Winners Over Pace on Sunday, June 29.
Mappos Lion took control from insider leaver Whats Up Doc through a :29.4 first quarter and doubled his margin at every pole from that point on while clocking middle splits of :59.1 and 1:29.2 and closing it out with a :28.3 final frame to finish 8-1/4 lengths alone on the lead at the wire in 1:58 flat. The track was rated fast with a one second variant due to the windy conditions.
Lewis MacDonell was aboard the eight-year-old Sunshine Beach-Pacific Playmate gelding for winning trainer Kenny Collins.
Mappos Lion paid $2.30 to win as the overwhelming 1-9 favourite in the afternoon's $2,000 feature. Whats Up Doc (Rodney Gillis) won the race for place, holding off Talk Some Smack (Danny Gillis) and Eastcoast Invader (Monica Sutherland).
Owned by Hailee Currie of Rocky Point, P.E.I., and Carol Campbell of Baddeck, N.S., Mappos Lion started his career in Nova Scotia with trainer Clare MacDonald and had been competing in the top classes at Woodbine Mohawk Park over the last few years under the care of Paul MacDonell. The sub-1:50 pacer entered Sunday's race with a record reading 25-11-11 from 77 starts and more than $310,000 in earnings.
Melanie Leblanc celebrated her first career training win on Sunday when Woodmere Heather M circled a field of half a dozen in the sixth race, a $1,500 conditioned optional claiming pace. In his third winning drive of the day, Redmond Doucet guided the pacing mare to the 2:02.2 triumph with a three-wide move at three-quarters, defeating the favoured pacesetter A Better Man (Gerard Kennedy) by 1-1/2 lengths. Woodmere Heather M paid $5.80 to win as the 2-1 second choice.
Leblanc trains the Malicious-For All We Know mare, who earned the first win of her five-year-old campaign in six starts, for owner Alanah Peterson of Orangedale, N.S.
The 24-year-old Inverness horsewoman earned her first training win in her 16th start, just shy of a month since sending out her first starter at the beginning of June. Prior to her maiden-breaking victory, Leblanc had three runner-up finishes including Zero Stress Nora earlier on Sunday's card.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Inverness Raceway.
(Standardbred Canada)