Despite being parked every step of the mile – and three-wide for a portion of the final turn – Run Director flexed his muscle and produced a sharp victory in the $124,200 Gold Series event for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings Thursday evening at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Run Director floated off the starting gate from Post 8 for driver Sylvain Filion and spent the mile racing on the rim while Joey Bats led the field through fractions of :27.4, :56.3 and 1:25.3. Filion fired his charge three-wide around the final turn before duelling the length of the stretch with pocket-sitting Jula Downton.
Those two sunk their claws into one another all the way down the lane, but it was the Ben Baillargeon-trained Run Director who won the battle by a head over Jula Downton in 1:54.1. Perfetto rallied from far back to finish third.
“I thought tonight he had to work, especially after the two run in the last turn, I thought it would have been a little easier. He won the race, but he had to work hard tonight,” said trainer Ben Baillargeon. “I have to say that I was a little surprised. I thought it would have been easier, but they made us earn our money tonight. He raced tough.”
The homebred son of Kadabra-Keep The Spirit races for Tom and Elizabeth Rankin of St. Catharines, Ont. After going 0-for-1 as a rookie, Run Director has answered with a 5-4-1 record from 15 starts this season. The lion’s share of the loot lifted the colt’s earnings to $282,455.
Run Director, the point leader in the division, improved his OSS record to 3-2-0 from five starts with the win.
(With quotes from OSS)
To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results – Woodbine Mohawk Park.