Trainer/driver Jamie Gray had a solid day at the office on Sunday thanks to a training and driving triple at Evergreen Park
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Gray went wire-to-wire with Wrangler M in the fourth race to get the ball rolling. The seven-year-old son of Astreos led through panels of :29.4, :58.1 and 1:27.2 before stepping home in :29.1 to seal the deal in 1:56.3 for owner Robert Murphy of Surrey, British Columbia.
Cuzzin Mimi gave Gray his second trip to the winner’s circle thanks to her 1:58.3 come-from-behind score in the sixth race. It was a career-best performance for the three-year-old daughter of Real Artist, who is owned by Gray and partners Stanley Blustein and Shawn Blustein.
Rossridge Divine manhandled the foes she faced in the seventh race, and that bumped Gray’s daily win total to three. It also gave owner Robert Murphy his second win on the program.
Gray, a career winner of 1,820 races, is just $2 shy of hitting the $7.5-million mark with the horses he has driven. In the training department, he has harness winners in excess of $6.3-million to date.
The feature race on Sunday’s program went to Second Fancy, who captured the $11,000 Fillies & Mares Open in 1:55.2 for driver Jeff Stone and trainer Jack Beelby.
Stone worked out a pocket trip behind Admired Beauty for the four-year-old daughter of Allamerican Native-Fancy Trouble. Admired Beauty threw down fractions of :29, :58 and 1:26.4 before giving way to Second Fancy, who stormed home in :28.2 to stop the teletimer in a career-best clocking of 1:55.2. Admired Beauty was more than two lengths in arrears. Third prize went to Doober Hoozzitz.
Don Byrne Stables 2008 Inc. and Don M Jr Stables of Edmonton, Alberta share ownership on the distaffer, who has put together a 4-7-5 record in 18 starts this season. The lion’s share of the purse bumped her lifetime cash stash to $58,176.
To view Sunday’s harness racing results, click here.