There was a birthday to celebrate on Saturday (July 4) at Northside Downs and Runaway Mystery wasn't about to spoil the party for his connections.
A field of seven was assembled for the $1,500 Winners Over Pace, with local standouts Runaway Mystery and Accelerator attracting much of the attention. Favoured Runaway Mystery, a winner in this class two weeks ago, was sent postward as the public choice for trainer-driver-birthday boy Harold Leblanc. There would be no gift for Leblanc from his on-track rivals as Runaway Mystery was targeted at every call.
Leblanc pointed Runaway Mystery to the front and cleared to the lead by the opening turn. Blacky Black (Barry Bates) was unable to find a spot at the rail and continued on to view for the lead through a :29.3 opening quarter. That pressure continued through a 1:01.1 half but was increased by Southwind Ricardo (Brett Leblanc) with an early three-wide attack.
Heading into the backstretch, Blacky Black waived the white flag and began to back through the field. Southwind Ricardo cleared that rival and applied first-over pressure to the pacesetting Runaway Mystery through a 1:32.1 third panel. Despite the pressure, the advantage was still on the side of the front-stepping Runaway Mystery. A :30 final quarter was enough to hold off the pocket-popping Accelerator (Greg Sparling) in the stretch by three parts of a length to score in 2:02.1. Cowboy Gilles (Adam Lynk) completed the triactor after a ground-saving trip.
Leblanc trains and co-owns six-year-old Runaway Mystery (Mister Big - Phoenix Arcane) partnering with Gus Burns of New Waterford, N.S. With three wins in four seasonal starts, Runaway Mystery has surpassed his 2019 win total in 24 fewer starts.
To view the results from Northside's Saturday card, click the following link: Saturday Results - Northside Downs.