Freshman pacers competing in five $6,000 Williamson Memorial Stake divisions headlined Monday’s harness racing card at Fredericton Raceway to kick start three days of FREX week races
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Driver Mike Stevenson scored a stakes triple earning a victory aboard pacing colt Big League and sweeping the filly splits with Goodmorninbeautful and Pictonian Amanda.
Undefeated pacing colt Big League was an easy wire-to-wire winner in the first division for the boys. Stevenson drove the son of Four Starzzz Shark-Bolero Tam Tam to his third straight win in 1:59.4 for trainer Sean Dooley. Island Lexus (Danny Romo) recovered from an early break behind the gate to finish second over pocket-sitter Shiretown Shark (Gilles Barrieau).
The Callbeck Stakes winner, who now boasts $5,945 in earnings, is owned by the Dooley Boys Racing Stable of Halifax, N.S. and Cheryl Geldart Greer of Norton, N.B.
In the next colt division, So Classy and driver Marc Campbell sat third for most of the mile before getting to pacesetter Obamanator (Gilles Barrieau) in the stretch for the 2:01.3 victory by a neck. First Art Down (Stephen Mason) finished four and three-quarter lengths behind in third.
The win was So Classy’s second of his career in six starts and pushed his earnings to $7,822. The Articulator-So Shy gelding, also a Callbeck Stakes winner, is trained by Earl Watts and owned by New Brunswick's Painting The Town Stable.
Pondside Thunder and trainer-driver Bernard McCallum pulled the pocket and thundered home to win the final colt division in 2:01.3. Mr Thompson (Mike Stevenson) finished second and Hoshinosenshi (Danny Romo) was third.
The son of Force Of Life-Raisin Ruckus now sports three wins -- including his Callbeck Stakes division and an Atlantic Sires Stakes split -- three seconds and one third in seven starts for owner Clifford Garland of Carbonear, Nfld. His earnings increased to $16,836.
Stevenson doubled up in the stakes action with a win in the first filly event aboard the Fred Banks-trained and owned Goodmorninbeautful. The homebred daughter of Astronomical-Cinnamon Snowflake launched a first over attack before the opening quarter mark, but leader Southfield Sophie (Terry Gallant) kept her parked to three-quarters. Goodmorninbeautful tucked into the pocket around the final turn before pulling out and soaring past the front-runner in the stretch for the 2:03.1 win. First Lady Of Art (Marc Campbell) came on for second, finishing just a neck behind, with Southfield Sophie third.
Goodmorninbeautful, a winner of her Lady Slipper Grassroots Stake division, earned her third straight victory while making her fourth career start. The lion’s share of the purse pushed her bankroll to $5,800.
Stevenson headed back to the winner's circle after steering Pictonian Amanda to a 2:00.1 victory in the other filly split. The Wayne Bell-trained Pictonian Amanda swept to command after the opening quarter but gave way to Rebel Enforcer (Gilles Barrieau) as they moved in front of the grandstand. The Western Paradise-Southview Sasha filly followed from the pocket before coming back on to score in the stretch over Rebel Enforcer. Cash An Clay (Jason Hughes) finished third.
Pictonian Amanda, a Callbeck Stakes and Atlantic Sires Stakes winner, improved her record to 3-2-2 in eight outings and lifted her earnings to $18,464 for co-owners Daniel Ross and Bill Bell of Belfast, P.E.I.
Stevenson ended the 18-race card with four wins while Gilles Barrieau won five races.
In other racing action, the Young Guns driving competition, featuring some up-and-coming young drivers from the Maritimes and Maine, wrapped up with Katie Gene Miller beating out fellow Nova Scotia representative Ben Hollingsworth, New Brunswick's Dale Spence and Andrew Ward, Prince Edward Island's Brad Smith and Nick Oakes, and Maine's Chris Nye and Andrew Harrington.
After winning a leg of the competition with Bo Butler at Exhibition Park Raceway on Friday, September 2, Miller secured top honours by steering veteran pacer Twilight Charm wire-to-wire at Fredericton.
For results from Monday’s harness racing card, click on the following link: Monday Results – Fredericton Raceway.