Hugh Heff ruled the roost at Northside Downs for the past 11 months, but Mappos Lion is quickly establishing himself as the new king of the jungle in Cape Breton.
Unable to haul down Hugh Heff a week ago, Mappos Lion roared to a 1:55.2 score in the $1,700 Winners Over top class pace at Northside on Saturday, July 19.
With the innermost starting spot on Saturday and a new driver in Ryan Campbell, Mappos Lion played a cutthroat game of catch-me-if-you-can with his six rivals on Saturday. After fronting the field through fractions of :28.2, :57.3 and 1:26.3, the 1/4 favourite sprinted away from pocket-sitter Kiss Me Im Irish (Mark Pezzarello) through a :28.4 final quarter to win by nearly nine lengths in a time of 1:55.2. Kiss Me Im Irish was next best with Hugh Heff (Randy Getto) unable to mount a serious challenge on this occasion, completing the top trio.
Ken Collins trains Mappos Lion ($2.60) for Hailee Currie of Rocky Point, P.E.I. and Carol Campbell of Baddeck, N.S. The eight-year-old son of Sunshine Beach - Pacific Playmate sports a 3-1-0 summary from four seasonal starts and 28 victories in his 81-start career. His earnings now stand at $313,107.
In the seventh race, Joes Dream Walking fell approaching the seven-eighths mark with driver Aiden Dicks. Dicks kept control of his horse and was able to avoid any serious issues for himself or Joes Dream Walking.
To view the full charts from Saturday's card of harness racing in Cape Breton, click the following link: Saturday Results - Northside Downs.
(Standardbred Canada)