The post was poor, the trip was beautiful and the payday was big for Crystal Fashion in the final of the Canadian Trotting Classic.
Tim Tetrick utilized Crystal Fashion’s great, gate speed to settle into the pocket in the rich final, and the Jim Campbell trainee parlayed the sweet ride into a 1:52.1 triumph.
Crystal Fashion flew to the lead and hit the opening marker in :27.3 before taking a back seat to Mets Hall. The race favourite led through middle splits of :56.2 and 1:25, but Crystal Fashion wore her down in the lane thanks to her :27-second, final quarter kick. Crystal Fashion edged out Mets Hall by a half-length margin in 1:52.1. Fiftydallarbill, who was parked every step of the mile, was a gutsy third.
“It worked out good today,” said Tim Tetrick. “We got out of there good and got on the right foot. He crossed over well, in-hand, and the favourite came and we had to let him go, so I got a dream trip.
“I went ahead and pulled the pocket at the top of the lane,” he added. “We had a horse race to the wire, but today my horse outgrinded him. With Crystal, you never know for sure. He always gives a pretty good effort, but sometimes he can look at butterflies.”
"Timmy did a great job getting him out of there to put him in good position," said trainer Campbell. "The horse, he digs. If he’s got a target to go at, he goes after it. He’s just been a tremendous horse to train this year.
“He’s been good at both two and three,” added Campbell. “He seems to get better. He’ll go down to Lexington and have two races there and then he’ll go to the Breeders Crown.”
Fashion Farms LLC of New Hope, PA owns the three-year-old son of Cantab Hall-Window Willow who won for the ninth time this season and for the 13th time in his career. The victory bumped his overall cash stash to $1,145,974.