Elimination winner My Friend Don turned in another wire-to-wire winning effort for the Masons in the $11,392 final of the MSSBA Futurity on Saturday night at Killarney
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With co-owner and driver Darryl Mason in the sulky, My Friend Don took control of the field and rebuffed a challenge from first over Kinda Special (Philip Giesbrecht) past three-quarters en route to victory in 2:02.4. Brians Town (Roland Rey) followed in the pocket to place while Kinda Special settled for third.
My Friend Don paid $8.10 to win as the 3-1 third choice. Mason shares ownership of the homebred Firm Friend-Tomorrows Pride colt with W. Allan Drader of Brookdale, MB while his wife, Sherri Mason, handles the training duties. After winning three of his five starts as a two-year-old including the Kindergarten and Juvenile Stakes, the bay colt has yet to miss the board in six sophomore starts and now boasts over $18,000 in earnings.
One race earlier in this year's $4,340 Kindergarten Stake for two-year-old pacers, the Marc Fillion-trained Heartland Firmway and driver Jacques Lambert scored a 2:06.1 victory over a pair of fillies. Heart For You (Cory Manning) followed for second, finishing three and a half lengths behind, and Brave Rustler (Dallas Mcgee) rounded out the top three, 14 lengths in arrears.
Heartland Firmway paid $5.20 to win as the co-favourite. The Firm Friend-Medway Amluck colt, now two-for-three in his career, is also owned by Drader.
Five-year-old Modern Art gelding Modern Look kicked off the MHHI Claiming Series for $3,500 claimers with a 3:11.1 victory over 1-1/2 miles. The Jodie Cullen trainee was driven to victory by Philip Giesbrecht for owners Fred Gilbert and Richard and Sean Osterbeck, all of Brandon, MB. Modern Look paid $5.70 to win as the bettor's choice.
In addition to the stakes action, fans were also treated to a track record performance on Saturday. Crush On Clinton established a new track record for aged pacing mares with her 2:00 triumph in the finale. The four-year-old Clintons Cigar mare lowered the former mark, held by My Friend Flicka, by three-fifths of a second. The wire-to-wire win was her second in a row since being claimed for $5,250 by Ralph Morrow of Holland, MB on July 24 at Miami and joining the stable of trainer-driver Dean Rey. Crush On Clinton paid $7 to win as the 5-2 second choice.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Killarney.