A double header on Saturday wrapped up FREX week at Fredericton Raceway and there was lots of action featuring some of the Maritimes’ top pacers
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A total of five $7,818 Bill Quigg Memorial Stake divisions for sophomore pacers took place throughout the day. The fillies got the stakes action started in the afternoon with a pair of splits going to R Es Miss Mcardle and Orally Yours.
Todd Trites sent R Es Miss Mcardle off the gate from Post 2 and the Mcardle-Blissful Thinking miss turned back a challenge from her stablemate R Es Mary (Allan Earl Smith) at the half before pulling away by three lengths at three-quarters. But it wasn’t clear sailing from there as N Xample Deal (Gord Hennessey) pulled the pocket in the stretch and matched strides with the pacesetter. R Es Miss Mcardle found the wire just in time though, winning by a nose in 1:59.2. Art I Fast (Mike Downey) closed well for third. Allan Earl Smith trains the winner of six races in 13 seasonal starts for owner the Life Is Good Stables of Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Orally Yours, driven by Gilles Barrieau, was much the best in her division winning by nearly six lengths in 1:59.4 in wire-to-wire fashion. Elleofnxample (Clare MacDonald) journeyed first-over to finish second with Elm Grove Dallas (Robert MacInnis) rounding out the top three. Dr. Hugh Baird trains, owns and bred the Cammibest-Le Win Skied filly, a winner of five races in 13 ’09 starts.
The colts had to wait until the evening to strut their stuff, and Woodmere Bigsplash, Calmlee Jason and Seawind Motion did just that in each of their divisions.
Woodmere Bigsplash was a wire-to-wire winner in the first colt division for teamster Todd Trites and trainer Eric Wilson. The Western Success-Whos Foolin Who colt won by one and a quarter lengths over the pocket-sitter, Mr Pogge (Allan Earl Smith), in 1:59.1. Cruising Kyler (Terry Gallant) rounded out the top three finishers. Unraced at two, Woodmere Bigsplash is now three-for-three for owners Capital A Investments Ltd. of Lower Cambridge and Valerie Phelan of Geary, N.B.
Calmlee Jason won his division in 2:01.3 in rein to Carl Isnor. The altered son of Drop Off-Zbojnicka used front-end tactics to get the job done. He battled with first-over challenger Extreme Measure (Shane Bernard) past the three-quarter marker before kicking away by nearly three lengths in the stretch. Porthill Galaxy (Gilles Barrieau) finished third. Calvin Isenor trains and owns the winner of four races in 12 sophomore starts.
Seawind Motion and driver Terry Gallant converted a pocket trip into a 1:59.2 score for trainer Allan Earl Smith and the Bluefin Stable of Charlottetown, P.E.I. The Camotion-Run Bambi Run gelding’s stablemates also fared well in the final split - pacesetter Woodmere Fastball (Gillies Barrieau) finished a quarter-length behind in second and Kingofthecastle (Allan Earl Smith) journeyed first-over to take third. For Seawind Motion, the win was his sixth of the season in 18 outings.
Governor’s Plate winner Outlawpositivcharg provided Gallant with another big victory on Saturday in the $7,500 Jennie & Joe Chippin Memorial Pace. The Blissfull Hall-Electromagnetic five-year-old left from Post 5 and carved out panels of :29.1, :58.3 and 1:27.4 en route to a 1:56.4 victory by two and a half lengths. Fresh off her Erwin Andrew Memorial Series triumph on Wednesday, Abby Best (Todd Trites) rode the pocket to finish second while HRNB Invite winner All Star Dragon (Gilles Barrieau) inherited third. Astronomical (Gord Hennessey) finished third but was placed fourth for causing interference at the three-quarters mark. Trained by Gallant and owned by Fred Lamont of Calgary, Alta., Outlawpositivcharg notched his eighth win in 15 outings this year.
In the $3,000 Albert Goodine Memorial Junior Invitational Pace, B J Cruiser sat third for most of the mile before unleashing a :29 final quarter to come on for the win. Gilles Barrieau guided the four-year-old son of Yankee Cruiser-Noble Marty to the one-length score in 1:57.1 over Igoddago (Marc Campbell) and pacesetter Porthill Alf (Gord Hennessey). Jean Charles Belliveau trains and owns the winner of five races in 29 seasonal starts.
To view Fredericton Raceway's harness racing results from the afternoon card, click here. For Saturday night's results, click here.