A hard-luck year shone some glitters for Celebrity Bambino as the foiled Hambletonian favourite collected the victory in the $660,000 Canadian Trotting Classic on Saturday night (Sept. 23) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Driver Yannick Gingras settled Celebrity Bambino into fourth as 101-1 shot Little Expensive (Andy Miller) slid to the lead through a :26.3 first quarter with 6-5 favourite Up Your Deo (Ake Svanstedt) in the pocket. Winners Bet (Dexter Dunn) tipped outside from fifth moving to a :56.1 half, forcing Gingras’ hand to pull Celebrity Bambino uncovered on the rim.
Misfortune of a possible first-over journey soon dissipated when Celebrity Bambino found cover from pocket-pulling Up Your Deo to the final turn. Following in the reprieve of the slipstream, Celebrity Bambino swung off cover past three-quarters in 1:24 and set his head down for the drive as Winners Bet tried to outfoot him to his outside. Celebrity Bambino sped through past the beam to clock a 1:51.4 victory by a neck over Winners Bet, while Hasty Bid (James MacDonald) stormed through a seam at the inside for third and Up Your Deo flattened out into fourth.
“At the start of the race, it wasn’t going right again,” said Gingras, who surpassed the $230 million mark in career earnings with the victory. “He felt so good warming up in the post parade -- he was right on the bit the way that I wanted him. The gate opened up, but his footing wasn’t right; he wasn’t trotting good. Looked like I was going to get away in a bad spot there, but the race change when Louis [Roy with Tuscan Prince] made a break and the other horses grabbed up. I got him through the first turn, and after that it went right. I knew Ake [Svanstedt with Up Your Deo] would pull the two-hole and [my colt] did the rest.”
The victory pushes Celebrity Bambino closer to millionaire’s row with now $936,070 in the coffers for owners Burke Racing Stable LLC, Knox Services Inc., JandT Silva Stables LLC and Phillip Collura. Ron Burke trains the White Birch Farm-bred three-year-old colt by Muscle Hill out of Celebrity Ruth, a $120,000 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale graduate who collected his ninth win from 24 starts.
Celebrity Bambino paid $6.80 to win.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(With files from Woodbine)