A pair of winners-over events—one for trotters, one for pacers—headlined Sunday evening’s (July 16) 10-race card at Rideau Carleton Raceway.
In the $6,800 featured trotting event (race three), Ghirardelli Lindy ($11.10) worked to protect the pocket in a three-way early battle before vaulting clear in upper stretch en route to a powerful 1:57.1 score. Richard Simard pressed forward with the eight-year-old Chocolatier gelding from the outset, defending inside position from fellow leavers Raising Richard (Darrell Coville) and Commissioner Daley (Guy Gagnon) through the first turn. While Raising Richard broke stride, Commissioner Daley would push to the fore through the :28.1 first quarter, leaving Ghirardelli Lindy to track from a clear pocket until outer flow formed behind Theregoesthegroom (Denis Filion) with five-sixteenths to go.
Ghirardelli Lindy would ultimately find room to swing wide with just over a sixteenth to go, reeling in the softened Commissioner Daley and sprinting off by five lengths. Alacrity (Jonathan Lachance) sustained a stand-side rally around stalled foes into a narrow second over Commissioner Daley.
Robert Dubé trains 24-time winner Ghirardelli Lindy for Saul Mendelson.
Nobettorplacetobe ($4.20) captured his third local top-level event in five tries in the $6,500 pacing feature (race eight) after stalking an early duel and moving to the fore up the far side. Trainer-driver Guy Gagnon floated the five-year-old Bettors Delight entire forward from the outside, and the pair landed just behind dueling leaders Atomic Million AM (Lachance) and Viper Select (Brett MacDonald). After tracking early splits of :26.4 and :55.4, Nobettorplacetobe was flushed first-over by Shippen Out (Simard), and advanced to duel down Atomic Million AM with three-eighths to go.
Nobettorplacetobe pushed forward and cleared to the pegs through three-quarters in 1:23.3, and was ultimately driven clear to prevail by 2-1/2 lengths in 1:52.1. Bestofbest Hanover (Stephane Pouliot) circled three-wide on the far turn and rallied into second, while Shippen Out saved third from after leveling off and ducking to the open stretch for a mild late rally.
Nobettorplacetobe, owned by Gagnon in partnership with Louis Latulippe and Bruno Blouin, captured the 17th win of his career and a new lifetime mark.
The featured wins headed driving hat tricks for both Simard and Gagnon, who led all drivers on the 10-race program.
To view the harness racing results for Sunday at Rideau Carleton Raceway, click the following link: Sunday Results – Rideau Carleton Raceway.