Driver Garrett Rooney put the exclamation point on his five-win day on Sunday, June 8 at Dresden Raceway with trainer Brittany Kennedy and Moneyclip Racing's homebred stallion Docsphillycheese pacing his way into the track record books.
Docsphillycheese stole the overall aged pacing record from Taylors Credit, defeating that front-striding gelding in the $5,200 Preferred 3 Handicap by three-quarters of a length in 1:54 flat. Taylors Credit held the former record, just a tick slower, for two short weeks following his Opening Day highlight at the meet but remains the fastest aged gelding at the track.
Docsphillycheese, a six-year-old stallion by Betterthancheddar out of Flight Of An Angel, knocked one full second off the track record for older pacing stallions that stood since 2002 when Sand Olls Dexter won the Tom Joy Memorial Invitational Pace.
A career winner of 27 races and $182,964, Docsphillycheese, who is perfect in five local starts over the past three years, returned to the Dresden half-mile oval for the first time since his 2024 Canada Day blowout victory. In Sunday afternoon's finale, Rooney landed in third among a host of early leavers with the 1-2 favourite Docsphillycheese ($3) from the middle of the gate, while Taylors Credit (Natasha Day) made front from the outside post seven and carved out fractions of :27.1, :56.3 and 1:25.2. Rooney made his move down the backstretch the final time and wore down the pacesetter in deep stretch to score by three-quarters of a length with a :28.2 final frame. La Sun Control (Alex Lilley) rounded out the top three, 2-1/2 lengths back.
Rooney teamed up with trainer Stephen Bossence to sweep the two $8,000 Prospect Series divisions for three-year-old trotting fillies, with Muscle Mass daughters Kenogami Rose ($3.50) in 2:04.3 and Eartha K ($10) in 1:59.4.
His other Sunday winners were pacer Sports Section ($7.80), claimed off a win in his last start by trainer Cameron McQueen, and veteran trotter Scene A Magician ($4.40), a repeat winner for the Jennifer Pinkerton stable.
With his five wins on the 11-race card (accompanied by four runner-up finishes), Rooney hit the 100-win mark in a single season for the ninth time in his career and the Iona, Ont. reinsman remains on pace to record his fourth straight million-dollar campaign.
There was another track record performance on Sunday when the Kyle Fellows trainee Stmikes Kerryblues ($7.90) won the $8,000 Prospect division for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings in 1:59. He equalled the divisional track record set last July by The Canam Banker in an Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots division.
Damian MacLellan tucked the leaving Green Manalishi-Wilsonator gelding into a two-hole that was left open by a second-turn breaker behind favourite Seeme Zoom (J Harris), who set panels of :29.3, :58.2 and 1:28. MacLellan made his move turning for home and Stmikes Kerryblues trotted off down the stretch. Lunar Halo (Alfie Carroll) closed well to edge out Seeme Zoom for the runner-up honours, 2-1/2 lengths behind the winner.
Stmikes Kerryblues earned his second Prospect Series win this season following a front-end success in a Kawartha Downs leg on May 17. He is owned by Yolanda Fellows of Rockwood, Ont., breeder Edward Wilson of Seagrave, Ont., Steve McGill of Bewdley, Ont., and Patrick Dillon of Port Hope, Ont.
The second leg of the Little Saratoga Pacing Series had just one $5,000 filly and mare division to start the card, with Summer Lovn ($12.30) lasting on the lead this time out to take a new lifetime mark of 1:58.1 in rein to catch-driver Tyler Borth for trainer Dwayne May and owner/breeder Diane Sylvestre of Sarnia, Ont. The front-striding three-year-old daughter of State Treasurer-Machs Affair, who faded to fourth in the opening round, built up an insurmountable six-length lead with a quarter-mile to go and held one length clear of closer Our Aurora (Mark MacDonell) and pocket-sitter Gurl Swag (Robert Doyle), while the favoured first-leg winner, Solitary Dancer (Garrett Rooney), made up a ton of ground after a trailing tier start to finish fourth.
The series, formerly known as the Mark Austin Memorial Series, is for non-winners of one race or $5,000 lifetime as of March 31. The $12,000 (added) finals are scheduled for next Sunday, June 15.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Dresden Raceway.
(Standardbred Canada; photo of Docsphillycheese winning on June 8)
Impressive
It was a great race and a great mile for Dresden. Couldn't be happier for the connections. Nice to see a hometown owner associated with the track record and a homebred nonetheless. Doc is looking down with a big smile I am sure.