A pair of $18,750 Open Handicaps – one on the trot and one on the pace – highlighted the Saturday night, Aug. 3 card at Batavia Downs and both events provided exciting finishes.
In the top trot, Power And Grace (Drew Monti) hung tough late to beat the boys and claim her 65th career victory.
E Street (Kevin Cummings) grabbed the front first and yielded to Power And Grace at the :27.2 quarter. But as soon as she seated, Crazy Ritz (Jim McNeight Jr.) took the lead from her as they trotted past three-eighths. But immediately, Monti pulled Power And Grace back out at the half and went back to the top, and this time for good. E Street pulled back out from third in the clubhouse turn and trotted alongside Crazy Ritz in second to three-quarters in 1:26.4. But that bid failed leaving Crazy Ritz clear to take his best shot. He pulled heading into the stretch and incrementally drew alongside Power And Grace. Both horses dug in for the line but Power And Grace was too good and hung on to win in 1:56.4.
The win was the ninth win of the year and 65th lifetime victory for Power And Grace ($6), who is owned by Hartel Maintenance, Lormer McClure, Brett MacDonald and Reg Higgs, all of Ontario. Ronald MacDonald trains the nine-year-old daughter of Holiday Road-Mark Of Honour who has hit the board in 71 per cent of her 202 career starts and sports a lifetime win percentage of 32 per cent.
Monti scored the hat trick at the lines after also winning with Im Already Gone (1:55.3, $13.40) and Maskedman (1:55.4, $4.40).
In the pacing feature, Stranger Things (Jim Morrill Jr.) tripped out to victory with a fast finish.
Vel Mr Nice Guy (Joe Chindano Jr.) and Stranger Things lined up one-two off the gate and skated through very soft fractions of :28.2 and :58.2 before Scribblers (Kyle Swift) led the charge on the outside heading into turn three. Chindano picked up the pace with Vel Mr Nice Guy with a :27.4 third quarter and that erased Scribblers advance. But as that one faded around the final bend, it gave Stranger Things a clear path from the pocket to the middle of the track. At the top of the stretch, Morrill simply loose-lined Stranger Things who then just paced right buy Vel Mr Nice Guy on his own to win by one-half length in 1:54.2.
The victory was the second win in the last three starts for Stranger Things ($12.80), who is owned by Kathy Schoeffel and James Reuther and trained by Angelo Nappo.
Morrill ended the night with a grand slam in the bike as he also won with Tiger Baron (1:54.3, $2.50), Sleeping Single (1:55.4, $4.80) and Stay Safe (1:59.3, $2.30).
Sam Smith led all trainers on Saturday with two wins.
Batavia Downs driving legend Gaston Guindon visited the track on Saturday and he was greeted by throngs of fans who vividly recalled his decades of driving dominance over the Genesee County oval. Guindon topped the local driver colony throughout the 1980s and 1990s while winning many driving titles there during that time. The native of Buckingham, Que. that made western New York his home for many years, left an indelible mark on the local harness racing scene while setting a standard of driving excellence that is still revered today. Guindon’s 3,080 wins and $6.9 million in purses highlighted a career that wrapped up in 2004 when “The Gasser” officially retired.
Live harness racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Tuesday, Aug. 6 at 6 p.m. and there will be a $1,004 carryover in the Super Hi-5 in race 12.
(With files from Batavia Downs)