Ultra Jimmy notched his second consecutive front-end score at Grand River Raceway on Wednesday in the
featured $11,000 Preferred 2 Pace.
Trained and driven by Ken Oliver, Ultra Jimmy left from Post 3 and raced past panels of :27.3, :57.2 and 1:25.3 while maintaining a two-length lead on the field. The popular son of Electric Stena-Shannon Déjà Vu sealed the deal with a :28.2 final frame and stopped the clock in 1:54 with over four lengths to spare. Longshots Blissfull Breeze (Phil Hudon) and Hide The Cash (Larry Small) finished second and third.
Ultra Jimmy paif $3.80 to win. He has won 10 times in 25 starts and $76,865 during his four-year-old campaign for owners Shirley and Kerry House of St. Jacobs and Kimberly Inglis of Brampton, ON. The lion's share of the purse pushed his lifetime earnings over the $100,000 mark.
Earlier this evening, Farmers Tuition kicked off the program with a victory in the $9,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred 3 Pace.
Stonebridge Celest (Ryan Holliday) and Michelles Idea (Mike Langdon) battled for the lead to the :27.2 opening quarter with Farmers Tuition and Anthony MacDonald parked out in third. Michelles Idea cleared down the backstretch and faced heavy pressure from Farmers Tuition past middle panels of :56.2 and 1:25.1, eventually giving way to that rival in the stretch. Farmers Tuition used a :29.2 final quarter to prevail by a length and a quarter in 1:54.4. Classic Sakuri (Phil Hudon) came on for second forcing Michelles Idea to settle for third.
Farmers Tuition paid $10.20 to win as the 4-1 third choice. The four-year-old Apaches Fame-Holy Creek mare notched her eighth win this year in 23 starts while her earnings climbed to $44,760. Barry Bird trains the career winner of more than $82,000 for co-owners Gerrie Tucker of Montreal, QC and Debbie Bird of Harwood, ON.
To view Wednesday's results, click here.