The Sunday (Aug. 27) card at Georgian Downs featured three divisions of the Prospect Series for two-year-old colt and gelding pacers.
Macwow kicked things off in the Prospect with a gate-to-wire victory in the $8,700 opening division. Leaving from post five in the field of eight, driver Travis Henry sent the Blake MacIntosh trainee straight to the front end through an opening quarter in :29. Macwow continued to lead through the half in :59 before coming under pressure at three-quarters by Jimmy Billie B and Tyler Borth. Vogue Blue Chip and Daryl Thiessen joined the duo to make it a three-across battle for the lead, but Macwow dug in gamely with a :30 final quarter to score the victory in 1:58.1 by a neck over Vogue Blue Chip.
It was the second victory in five career tries from the first crop son of McWicked out of the Badlands Hanover mare, Pleasant Yet Bad. Owned by Hutt Racing Stable, Macwow has now banked $11,625 for his career.
Island Warrior delivered in the second Prospect division with differing tactics from off the pace. Leaving from the far outside post seven, driver Brett MacDonald opted to take back in the early stages to last as Wild Doc Holliday and Austin Sorrie took the field to the opening quarter in :28.1. Wild Doc Holliday continued to have things his way to the half in :58.2 as Island Warrior joined the outside cover flow. Wild Doc Holliday led through three-quarters in 1:27.3 as MacDonald began to launch his bid on the final turn. Utilizing a strong :28.1 final quarter, Island Warrior surged from the backfield to earn the victory by just over a length in 1:56.3. Wild Doc Holliday held for second, with Meet Me In Mekonos finishing third.
Trained by Jared Bothwell, Island Warrior picked up his second victory in 2023. The 1:56.3 clocking was a lifetime best for the son of Artspeak-Canary Island. MacDonald finished the night with four wins.
Ballykeel Painter followed up Island Warrior with a dominant front-end victory in the third division. Driver Daryl Thiessen aggressively handled the heavy favourite, powering to the front from post five through an opening quarter of :29.1. Ballykeel Painter tapped the brakes in the second quarter in :59.2 before opening up on the field by two lengths at three-quarters in 1:28. From there, Ballykeel Painter never looked back with a final sprint in :28.3 to win by over five on the wire in 1:56.3. Bettors Russ and Travis Henry finished second, with Gladiators BG finishing third.
It was the second win in just three starts for the son of Dali-Boom Ballykeelbabe who is yet to finish worse than second in his career. Trained by Terry McKibbin, Ballykeel Painter has banked $10,750 for owners Ballykeel Racing Inc.
Results for Georgian Downs' Sunday card of harness racing can be found at the following link: Sunday Results - Georgian Downs.