Lady Of Malice was full of venom for her opponents in a dominant victory in the single $20,200 Phil Pinkney Memorial event for two-year-old pacing fillies at Inverness Raceway on Wednesday, July 22.
A length back of Tobins Girlboss (Clare MacDonald) entering the first turn, Paul Langille procured a burst from the filly to reach the front and roll 3-1/4 lengths ahead before a :31 first quarter. Here For The Party (Keith Legge) fired out of fifth nearing the first station and briefly threatened the leader before dropping down into the pocket as they turned towards the stands. Fox Harbour Filly (Marc Campbell) was next to challenge as she moved into range of the pacesetter after a 1:00.2 half and applied pressure until fading at three-quarters in 1:31.4. Lady Of Malice then flew home in :28.2, leaving Here For The Party 5-1/2 lengths back as she finished off a 2:00.1 score. Here For The Party was second, and Fox Harbour Filly held third.
Lady Of Malice took her second victory in three starts after finishing fourth in her debut in a conditioned event and crushing a P.E.I. Colt Stakes Grassroots field last time out. The Kyle Williams-trained daughter of Malicious-Karans Choice has earned $14,326 for owners Williams of Coleman, P.E.I. and James Trainor of Ellerslie, P.E.I. She paid $5.20 to win.
Hugh Heff joined the 50-win club with a gritty victory in the sub-featured $2,000 Winners Over Pace. He slid into the pocket early for Randy Getto but left the pylons after a :28.2 first panel and hooked up with Whats Up Doc (Redmond Doucet) through :56.4 and 1:27.1 fractions. Mcland (Walter Walker), winner of two straight in the Winners Over, came off the helmet of the first-over challenger to form a three-across melee into the stretch. Hugh Heff entered the straight on top, and he fought on to defeat Whats Up Doc by a half-length in 1:57.2. Mcland hung on for third.
Hugh Heff, a six-year-old son of Betterthancheddar-Danika Patrix, achieved his 50th victory in his 108th start. He has been a mainstay of the top pacing level at Northside Downs since moving to the Maritimes in August 2024 for trainer Dana Getto and owners Randy Getto of New Waterford, N.S., Susan MacSween of River Ryan, N.S. and Wayne Hardy of Sydney, N.S. He won his first eight races in Nova Scotia and took that year’s Governor’s Cup Series final, part of a season in which he won more races than any horse in North America. He was named the Horse of the Year at Northside in 2024 and 2025. The gelding has a 2-1-5 card in nine starts this season, contributing to a $126,016 career bankroll. His Wednesday win price was $5.60.
To view Wednesday's harness racing results, click the following link: Wednesday Results - Inverness Raceway.
(Standardbred Canada; photo of Lady Of Malice winning on July 22)