Kashs Caviar shot up the passing lane for an 8-1 upset in the 47th edition of the $147,000 Frank Ryan Memorial Trot on Sunday night at Rideau
Carleton Raceway.
Kashs Caviar and driver Mario Baillargeon left alertly from the rail, but outside starter Rose Run Hooligan (Randy Waples) forged to the front and reached the opening quarter in :28.2.
After recovering from an early misstep, Paul MacDonell sent the popular Define The World first over from third while Rose Run Hooligan took the field past the half in :57.2. As he headed to the next marker in 1:27, Armbro Chronicle (Mike Saftic) advanced three-wide around the fading Define The World and went head-to-head with the pacesetter as they entered the stretch.
The top two battled down the stretch, but Kashs Caviar shot up the passing lane to prevail by a neck over Rose Run Hooligan (Randy Waples) in 1:57.2 over the sloppy track, which was rated three seconds slow. Armbro Chronicle (Mike Saftic) finished three-quarters of length back in third.
Kashs Caviar paid $18 to win as the 8-1 third choice in the field of five.
"He had a great trip, I didn't drive a fantastic race," said a humble Baillargeon in the winner's circle. "Paul's horse made a little break leaving the gate and that changed the whole race really. I let Randy go, I thought he was the horse to beat. And then Paul removed and he decided to leave him out there so we had a perfect two-hole trip with the passing lane here. I remember racing here at Rideau years ago and I remembered there was a passing lane and he trotted right by. He beat some good horses tonight, he surprised me tonight."
Baillargeon said it wasn't until the top of the stretch that he thought his horse could win.
"At the top of the stretch I thought I had a lot of horse going over Randy and I thought if he got in the passing lane and then trot on he could win," said the veteran reinsman.
The four-year-old gelded son of Sjs Caviar-Ocala Kash provided Baillargeon with his third Frank Ryan trophy and second with his brother, trainer Ben Baillargeon. The Baillargeon brothers won the 2009 edition with Ziegler Hanover.
"It's real nice for my brother," continued Baillargeon. "We raced a lot of horses here before we moved to Toronto."
Kashs Caviar is owned by Slaughter Racing Stb LLC of Prospect, Kentucky and Wayne Zollars of Mt. Vernon, Ohio. The win was his sixth of the season in 18 starts and boosted his earnings to $176,305. The 11-time career winner now sports a $299,297 bankroll.
For results from Sunday's harness racing card, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Rideau Carleton Raceway.