Guilford went from last to first to earn his third consecutive victory in the $13,000 Preferred Trot on Friday night at Rideau Carleton Raceway
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In the evening's feature event at the Ottawa oval, Guilford and driver Denis St. Pierre trailed the six-horse field early on while Mystical Ryan (Darrell Colville) showed the way past fractions of :28.3, :58.3 and 1:27.1.
Last week’s winner, Watkins (Gord Brown), rolled first over from fourth as the field neared the three-quarters mark with Quater Bayama (Guy Gagnon) and Lemon Candy (Daniel Delude) gapping his cover. Meanwhile, Guildford advanced along the rail into fourth position avoiding the miscue made by Quater Bayama, which caused interference to Lemon Candy.
With Watkins applying pressure to the leader around the final turn, Guilford moved out on his back and then fired home to score the mild upset in 1:57.1. Watkins finished one and three-quarter lengths behind in second with Mystical Ryan coming in third.
Guilford returned $12.50 to win. The seven-year-old gelded son of Angus Hall-Sjs Sentiment notched his fifth in 14 seasonal starts and pushed his earnings to $33,090 for trainer Gerard Demers and owner 9174 7998 Quebec Inc. of Blainville, Que. The victory was No. 21 in his career and lifted his total bankroll to $306,753.
In other action, Per Henriksen scored a training triple during the 15-race card with trotters Smarty Pants ($3.70) and back-to-back winners Charlie Is A Joker ($5.90) and Impish Playmate ($7.20). Two-year-old Kadabra filly Smarty Pants's 2:03.1 victory was the first in her career as was three-year-old Angus Hall gelding Charlie Is A Joker's 2:01.3 triumph.
For results from Friday’s harness racing card, click on the following link: Friday Results – Rideau Carleton Raceway.