The Ladies Man was a repeat winner in the second round of the Beat The Heat Pacing Series on Saturday evening at Mohawk Racetrack.
After finding the winner’s circle in his $20,000 opening leg division, The Ladies Man continued his best stride as he capitalized off a perfect, pocket trip by driver Aaron Byron to win his $30,000 second split in 1:51.
All Tiger N (Luc Ouellette) left aggressively from post nine and led his 10 rivals past panels of :26, :55 and 1:23.1 before The Ladies Man took over command and held off all challengers. Trend Spotter (Jason Brewer) came from off-the-pace to finish second with Lucky Terror (Jody Jamieson) finishing third.
“He’s an easy horse to drive with a terrific attitude and is a classy horse,” Byron said following the race. “We were fortunate to get the two-hole trip behind a good horse, who I knew would take me to the top of the stretch. Hopefully we get a good post for the final.”
Jim Ritchie trains and co-owns the 20-time winner with his brother Paul and Murray Cox. The Ladies Man has now recorded three straight victories in nine starts this season while his lifetime earnings increased to $273,975.
After finishing second by a nose in the opening round of the series, Bestinthebusiness improved a notch as he went gate-to-wire in the first division for driver Luc Ouellette and trainer Stephen Davis.
Despite a post 10 start, Ouellette urged Bestinthebusiness to the front well before the opening quarter mark of :26.4. Post time favourite Keep It Real (Jody Jamieson) was second.
Bestinthebusiness continued past the half in :54.2 and three-quarters in 1:23 before fending off Keep It Real in deep stretch for the 1:50.4 victory by three-quarters of a length. Keep It Real stayed for second and Sheer Desire (Keith Oliver) came in third.
“He’s got terrific gate speed, which we used tonight,” Ouellette said. “I knew Keep It Real was on my back, but at the top of the stretch I was feeling pretty good about my horse. He felt strong and paced right through the wire. It makes for a great final.”
Owned and bred by Brett Boyd Racing Inc., Bestinthebusiness notched his 17th career win. The four-year-old son of Another Mile increased his bankroll to $136,194. The gelding boasts a 4-5-1 record from 15 starts this season. He paid $11.70 to win as the second choice.
The series is for aged pacers that are non-winners of $25,000 in 2012 as of May 31 (winners over $100,000 in 2011 are not eligible).
The $50,000 final will go to post on Saturday, July 7.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Mohawk Racetrack.
(With files from WEG)