Trainer Michael Hall celebrated a career milestone after sending out a perfect pair of two-year-old pacers in the Bucky Gray Jr. Memorial Series on Tuesday, July 9 at Ocean Downs.
Six days after her 1:59.2 maiden-breaking debut in rein to Jonathan Roberts, Little Instigator (Heston Blue Chip-Last Time To Play) found the winner's circle again with a 1:57.1 score in her $10,274 first-round division of the Bucky Gray Jr. Memorial Series for owners William and Sarah MacMillan.
Hall came back to win the third division of the series with Primo Maschio (Badlands Hanover-Primadonna), as Trae Porter guided the gelding to a front-pacing 1:58.2 score for Hall and co-owners Let It Ride Stables Inc., and Ctc Stable.
The victory by Primo Maschio marked a career milestone for Hall, who celebrated 2,000 training wins.
The 47-year-old Ocean City, Maryland horseman, who earned his first career win in 2000, has trained winners of more than $20 million lifetime since. He is coming off a career-best season in 2023 when his stable won 214 races and $2.3 million in purses.
In the other Bucky Gray Jr. Memorial Series division on Tuesday, Porter kept Kevin Lare trainee Waitingonyou (Downbytheseaside-Michelles Song) three-quarters of a length in front of her stablemate Preclude to win in 2:02.2.
Hall continued his winning ways on Wednesday, July 10 at Ocean Downs, sending out two more winners, including Got The Gold in the $16,438 Fillies & Mares Open Handicap Pace.
Got The Gold, who dead-heated for a 1:53.3 win in last week's Open, was the sole champion this time as the even-money favourite. Ocean Downs' leading driver, Johnathan Ahle, sent the five-year-old Bettors Delight-Ideal Nuggets mare first over with a lap to go and downed Sharkine by a half length in 1:54.4 for Let It Ride Stables and Odds On Racing.
Ahle completed a sweep of the mid-week card's Open events, winning the Open 1 Handicap Trot with trainer Eric Foster's homebred College Tuition in a 1:56.1 score.
Prior to the pari-mutuel card, two $10,274 first-round divisions of the Tom Cooke Memorial Series for two-year-old trotters were contested. Watch Me Goo This (International Moni-Gooreatness) defeated Casino Magic by 28-3/4 lengths in 2:02.3 in the first division for Ahle and owner/trainer Richard Hans, and Archie Buford steered Prince Of Royals (Cantab Hall-New Royalty) to a neck victory over Chex Check in 2:06.2 for owner Audra Fetcher and trainer Oscar Johnson Jr. Both trotters won their first career starts.
Live harness racing returns to Ocean Downs on Thursday, July 11. The 12-race card features four first-round divisions of the Diane "Mum" Stevenson Memorial for $7,500 USD claiming pacers. First post is 7:05 p.m.
(Standardbred Canada & Ocean Downs)