Rideau Carleton Raceway newcomer Caulfield ($5) delivered on his pari-mutuel promise in the $6,500 Winners Over Handicap Trot co-featured on Sunday night (August 20) at the Ottawa oval.
Three-wide early on, Ghirardelli Lindy and Richard Simard forged on to take the lead past the :27.3 quarter and continued on to the half in :57.1 when Caulfield and trainer/driver Robert Robinson began to advance from fourth. They confronted the leaders on the way to three-quarters in 1:26.2 with Jetcrest and Brett MacDonald joining the fray down the stretch. However, Caulfield prevailed in between by a head in 1:56.2. Jetcrest was the runner-up and Ghirardelli Lindy, who had won his last two starts in the top class, finished third.
Caulfield's Rideau debut marked his second win of the year from 13 starts. Lifetime, the five-year-old Kadabra-Misty Ridge gelding has won 11 races and $292,965 in purses for owner Synerco Ventures Inc. of Toronto.
This week's $6,950 Winners Over for pacers was won by the front-striding National Debt ($10.50), who held off the rallying favourite Bestofbest Hanover by half a length in 1:53. The six-year-old son of Allamerican Native is trained by Yves Tessier and owned by Francois Morin of Beauceville, Que. Jacques Beaudoin was in the bike for National Debt's sixth success this year and second win in his last three starts at Rideau.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Rideau Carleton Raceway.