It was elimination day at Alberta Downs on Sunday as three-year-old fillies went toe-to-toe in the Alberta Diamond and the three-year-old pacing colts and geldings battled in the Alberta Marksman
W Jean went to the front and didn’t look back en route to taking home the lion’s share of the purse in her $12,500 elimination for the tandem of driver Bobby Clark and trainer Keith Clark. It was a 1-2 finish for Clark-trained fillies as stablemate/entrymate Rossridge Fortune grabbed the runner-up award. She was three-quarters of a length in arrears to the 1:54.2 winner. Third prize went to Nakednakednaked.
Sent off as one-half of the heavily favoured entry, W Jean won for the fourth time this season in just 12 trips postward. The daughter of Camystic-Kelsey Victoria is now a career winner of $89,718 for the Alberta partnership of Dr. Maurice Stewart, Maureen Stewart, Gord Rumpel and Blair Corbeil.
River Lass got up in the final strides for trainer/driver Kelly Hoerdt en route to taking the second elimination for the gals. The odds-on favourite used a :26.2 closing quarter to win by three-quarters of a length over Queen Of Swing in 1:55.1. Wish Hope N Pray grabbed the show dough in the $12,500 affair.
Hoerdt shares ownership on the daughter of As Promised-Brass Buttons with Blair Corbeil of Beaumont, AB. The filly is now an eight-time winner this year and a nine-time winner in her career. The lion’s share of the purse boosted her lifetime earnings to $91,884.
Barona Ice throttled the foes he faced in the first of two $12,500 Alberta Marksman eliminations. The son of Freedoms Pass-Vanessa Hall laid down fractions of :29.1, :59.1 and 1:27.4 before kicking home in :28.3 to win by 3-1/2 lengths over Jafeica Again in 1:56.3. Dees Promise rounded out the top three finishers.
Bill Tainsh, Jr. mapped out the winning trip for the Douglas Stout trainee, who won for the fourth time in nine trips postward this season. Bred and owned by Barona Yearlings of Spruce Grove, AB, Barona Ice goes into next week’s final with more than $65,000 on his card.
Clintons Escape, fresh off his win in the $105,000 Brad Gunn Final, front-stepped to a 1:53.2 victory in the second elimination for trainer/driver Keith Clark. The son of Clintons Cigar-Emotionaliscape threw down fractions of :27.1, :56.2 and 1:24.3 before finishing off his rivals with a :28.4 closing panel. He was three-quarters of a length better than Campasser, with RS Merlin rounding out the top three.
The triumph was the ninth of the 2010 campaign for Clintons Escape, who is owned by Clark and the partnership of Allan Neurauter and George Young. The pacer has stashed away more than $156,000 in his career.
To view Sunday’s results, click here.