Popular three-year-old pacing fillies Barona Josie, Dewinton Destroyer and Minettas Nightstar delivered on their pari-mutuel promises and took new lifetime marks in the process in Sunday afternoon's $7,500 Alberta Sires Stakes Diamond eliminations at Alberta Downs
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Barona Josie kicked off the Alberta Diamond eliminations for driver Bill Tainsh Jr. and trainer Doug Stout while the Keith Clark-trained and driven Dewinton Destroyer and Minettas Nightstar swept the final two splits.
Driving through horses from the trailing tier, Barona Josie worked her way to the lead and maintained that top spot through fractions of :28.4, :57.3 and 1:26.1. Pulling the pocket down the stretch, B C Fantasy (Jamie Gray) came charging up on the outside but ran out of racetrack as Barona Josie found the wire just in time to score the career-best 1:54.2 victory by a nose. Ashlynn Grace (John Chappell) finished five and a half lengths behind in third.
Barona Josie paid $5.20 to win. The daughter of Brandons Cowboy-Vanessa Hall has won half of her eight starts this year, including her elimination of the Alberta Princess earlier this summer, while banking $22,989 in purses. Stout also shares ownership of the bay filly with breeder Barona Yearlings of Spruce Grove, Alta.
Dewinton Destroyer trailed the early leader, As Seely Promised (Bobby Clark), by 19 lengths after an outside start in her elimination, but turned that deficit into a surplus as Clark angled her off the pylons and sent her underway past the :27-second opening quarter mark, picking up cover from Dudes Bonnie (Rod Hennessy).
Meanwhile, back on top Reservations Only (Ryan Grundy) re-took the lead from As Seely Promised and carved out middle splits of :55.3 and 1:23.4.
Dewinton Destroyer advanced on the outside and moved up to fourth by the three-quarters mark, avoiding a break by Dudes Bonnie. Rallying home, Dewinton Destroyer swept past Reservations Only in late stretch to score the career-best 1:53.4 victory. Reservations Only finished one and three-quarter lengths behind with Apalamine (Kelly Hoerdt) nearly eight lengths back in third.
Dewinton Destroyer paid $5.70 to win for the sixth time in 14 seasonal starts. Clark co-owns the As Promised-Avacal Hope miss, who has banked most of her $50,789 bankroll this season, with Doris McDougall of Cochrane, Alta. In recent stakes action, the bay filly finished second in the ASHA Breeders to her stablemate, Minettas Nightstar.
In the final elimination, Minettas Nightstar advanced first over from fourth en route to extending her win streak to four.
Easterpromise (Jeff Stone) took over the lead just past the :28.2 opening quarter from Feelin Flush (Johh Chappell) and posted middle panels of :58.2 and 1:26.4.
Moving up into second just one and half lengths off the lead at the third quarter, Minettas Nightstar unleashed a :27.4 final frame to propell herself four lengths ahead of the field. The daughter of Brandons Cowboy-Lucky X Ample lowered her lifetime mark to 1:54.4 while Feelin Flush finished second and Gottobsexy (Jamie Gray) came on from the backfield to show.
Minettas Nightstar paid $3.50 to win. Clark also shares ownership of the third elimination winner with John Hind of Calgary, Alta. She has won half of her 10 starts this year to bank $46,104.
Another popular three-year-old pacing filly also delivered in the $8,800 Fillies & Mares Open Pace for trainer-driver Jamie Gray and owner Diane Bertrand of Edmonton, Alta. Shoplifter Hanover lowered her mark to 1:54.1 with her second straight win in the Open. Rossridge Fortune (Keith Clark) finished a half-length back in second and Garden Gate Storm (Chris Warrington Jr.) rounded out the top three. The Dragon Again-Shopping At Saks filly paid $5 to win.
For results from Sunday's harness racing card, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Alberta Downs.