Rod Starkewski's two-year-old pacing filly Crackers Hot Shot earned her second consecutive win in the Alberta Sires Stakes program on Saturday afternoon at Alberta Downs.
Fresh off a victory in the opening Alberta Starlet leg on Aug. 11, Crackers Hot Shot rallied home from the backfield to win her $27,100 Starburst split in 1:58.4 with Starkewski aboard.
Outsider HF Pajama Party and Bobby Clark fired to the lead early on, but Va Va Vroom and Rod Hennessy refused to sit a pocket trip and cleared to command just before the :28.3 first quarter marker. Their lead was short-lived though as Crown And Ginger, driven by Tim Brown, swept from third to first during the second panel.
As the fillies passed the half in :59.1, the Keith Clark-driven Wish I Was made her move from mid-pack and rushed up to apply pressure to the leader. They battled to the third quarter station in 1:28.4, but the backfield was just beginning to fire up. Outlawlookslikrain, with Connie Kolthammer in the sulky, swept by as they entered the stretch, followed by Shadow Time and Bill Tainsh Jr., and the fastest late-closer, Crackers Hot Shot, on the grandstand side.
Favourite Crackers Hot Shot paid $5.80 to win by nearly two lengths over Shadow Time and Outlawlookslikrain. The Camcracker-Shesahotshot filly notched her third win in four starts (including one schooler) and nearly doubled her bankroll, which amounts to $28,500.
In the earlier division, Barona Lilac front-stepped her way to a 1:59.1 two length triumph for her first stakes trophy. The victory completed a natural hat trick mid-program for trainer-driver Kelly Hoerdt.
The daughter of Ameripan Gigolo and Solheim left from post six and cleared to command around the first turn. Hoerdt rated her through fractions of :29.1, :59.4, and 1:28.2 en route to victory lane. Sharkys Law and Hennessy followed from the pocket to place while Outlawcherishafool and Kolthammer finished third. The 2-1 favourite paid $6.20 to win.
Barona Lilac, who finished fourth with broken equipment in the first round of Sires Stakes, notched her third win in five starts (including two schoolers) while boosting her bankroll to $18,308. The bay filly was purchased for $9,500 at the ASHA Yearling Sale by Hoerdt and partner Blair Corbeil of Beaumont, Alta.
Hoerdt's other winners were Red Star Jenny and Trust The Artist, who romped to his fifth Open score of the year in 1:54.2.
Live harness racing returns to the Lacombe oval on Sunday at 1:45 p.m. Alberta's two-year-old pacing colts will have their turn in the spotlight in three Alberta Lonestar splits worth over $18,000 each. Also during the nine-race card, the annual Media/Manager Challenge exhibition race will be contested featuring Northland Park's Chris Roberts competing along with representatives from the local media outlets.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Alberta Downs.