Stonebridge Hermes paced his career best time in the $10,000 Preferred Handicap Pace on Sunday (Aug. 10) at Rideau Carleton Raceway with a 1:52.2 final time.
Ryan Guy left swiftly from the rail with the Jacques Beaudoin student, securing the early lead to the quarter in :27.1 before Iama Rocket (Clarke Steacy) settled in on the front. Stonebridge Hermes followed in the pocket trip through fractions in :55.3 and 1:23.4. Down the stretch, the pacesetter faded slightly, allowing Stonebridge Hermes to set his sights on the victory. The backfield rocketed forward with Logan Behold (Sylvain Lacaille) and The Light Speed (Guy Gagnon) joining Stonebridge Hermes in a blanket finish. Stonebridge Hermes prevailed by a neck in 1:52.2. Logan Behold was second with The Light Speed third.
Owned by Jacques Beaudoin, Stonebridge Hermes is a six-year-old son of Betting Line and the Artsplace mare Glacier Express. He has won four times from 19 starts this year and posted a career record of 23-15-23 in 125 starts with $144,198 banked.
A pair of $8,000 Hard Rocking Summer Claiming Series classes went to the gate on Sunday as the second leg of the series with five pacers in each race in for an $11,000 tag.
Fancy Lettering (Guy Gagnon) wired the first class with a 2-1/4 length triumph in 1:55 for trainer Gagnon and owner John Macmillan. No Time At All (Pascal Berube) was second with Mach Art In Motion (Mike Healey) third. Fancy Lettering returned $6.10 for the win.
Ladyford Dollar Gb (Berube) was parked the mile, but overcame the outside trip to score by a half length in 1:56.2 over Docdor Mickey (Ryan Guy) and Beach Cowboy (William Roy). John Macmillan owns and trains the winner. He paid $4 to win.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Rideau Carleton Raceway.
(Standardbred Canada)