After three top-thee finishes without a win in the Open class at Batavia Downs, Windsun Charlotte took full advantage of some class relief and got the win in the featured $13,889 conditioned pace for fillies and mares on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
Windsun Charlotte (Dave McNeight III) took her usual off-the-pace position after leaving the gate and watched Hurrikane Lori Ann (Kevin Cummings) lead the girls to the quarter in :28.1, with the favoured Machs Legacy A (Drew Monti) sitting in the pocket. After moving through turn two, an outer flow formed that was led by Gentrify (Brett MacDonald), who was quickly tailed by Windsun Charlotte to the half in 58.1.
The contestants then made their way up the backstretch to three-quarters in 1:26.3, where Windsun Charlotte tipped three-deep. Now moving through the turn, there were three mares across the track from the pylons out: Hurrikane Lori Ann, Gentrify and Windsun Charlotte in that order. Everyone held their place among the tightening pack, but when they entered the stretch, Windsun Charlotte charged to the front as McNeight reclined in the bike, winning by a length in 1:55.4. Grannys Watching (Shawn McDonough) surged for second, with Gentrify third.
The victory was the fourth of the year in 21 starts for Windsun Charlotte ($12.28), who is owned by Deborah Fredrickson and trained by Cassandra Johnson. The four-year-old Betterthancheddar-Windsun Chanel mare is now nine-for-45 lifetime.
Shawn McDonough topped all trainers on the 12-race Wednesday program as he registered a hat trick. His winners were Cold Road Soda (1:56.2, $11.64) and Lorraine Smoke (1:57.1, $5.80), who were driven by Brett MacDonald, along with Allsmokeandmirrors (1:56.1, $2.52), piloted by Kevin Cummings. McDonough has won 40 races this year from 315 starts.
The leading driver for the night was MacDonald, who scored a grand slam during the card. He won with Cold Road Soda and Lorraine Smoke for McDonough and Captain Chelsey (1:59, $10.52) and Four finger Floyd (1:56, $19.98).
McNeight III, aka “Triple Sticks,” had a triple at the lines on Wednesday.
Live racing will resume at Batavia Downs on Thursday at 2 p.m. There will be a $788 carryover pool in the Pick-5 wager in the first race, and the management of Batavia has announced that the pool will be guaranteed at $3,000 through the United States Trotting Association’s Strategic Wagering Program. As part of that program, TrackMaster will provide free full past performance pages that can be downloaded (when they become available) at handicapping.ustrotting.com. The Pick-5 at Batavia Downs is a 50-cent minimum wager that starts in the first race and runs through the fifth race.
There will also be a $4,101 carryover in the Jackpot Hi-5 pentafecta wager in the 10th race. The Jackpot Super Hi-5 is a 20-cent minimum wager.
(With files from Batavia Downs)