Two-year-old pacers were in the spotlight Monday afternoon at Fredericton Raceway as the half-mile oval hosted three divisions – two for fillies and a single for the boys - of the Williamson Memorial Stakes.
Fern Hill Bella was an impressive winner in her $6,800 assignment. Todd Trites sat fourth for the opening half with the daughter of Aahm Canadian Now-Caru Hanover, but she made a bold move to grab the lead at the three-quarter pole and then fired home in :29.1 to win by 12-3/4 lengths over Tobins Secret in 2:00.1. The show dough went to Pictonian Dazzle.
The first-time starter, owned and trained by Roy Dickinson of Island View, NB, was a $1,500 purchase from last year’s Nova Scotia Provincial Exhibition Yearling Sale.
Odds-on favourite Woodmere Dreams made a miscue getting away from the starting gate in the second division for the fillies, but she pulled on out of the first and posted a huge recovery en route to posting the narrow win. Gilles Barrieau hustled her back into contention and the filly kicked home in :29.4 to beat Woodmere Finesse by a head in 2:00.4. Third prize was earned by Putnams Fire.
Kenneth Wilkie trains the daughter of Articulator-Oh Pretty Leigh for Douglas and Jamie Hill of Charlottetown, PE. The $15,500 purchase from last year’s Atlantic Classic Yearling Sale now owns a 3-0-1 record from six starts plus a bankroll that stands at $13,283.
Tobinator captured the lone division for the colts and geldings, and he stopped the clock in 2:01.4 in the process. Corey MacPherson tripped out the Trevor Hicken trainee in the pocket spot through the opening half before brushing to the top at the three-quarter pole. They edged away late and won by one-quarter of a length over Carters Caper. Dividend Day was third in the $6,800 affair.
Sent off as the 7-5 favourite, the gelded son of Coastocoast Yankee-Southern Blue improved his freshman record to 5-1-1 from seven starts while lifting his cash stash to $21,172. Purchased for $5,000 from last year’s Atlantic Classic Yearling Sale, Tobinator is owned by Robin Burke, Luke Burke, Perry Burke and Kent Livingston.
City Of The Year capped off the card with a 1:58.1 victory in the $1,350 Preferred 1 for pacers. Owner/trained Mike Downey of Saint John, NB guided the gelding to the come-from-behind score over All Turain in 1:58.1. Rounding out the top three in the six-horse tilt was Hyperion Blue Chip.
The four-year-old son of Royal Mattjesty-What Fools Believe won for the ninth time in his career while pushing his lifetime earnings to $19,141.
Below is a video recap of the Labour Day festivites at Fredericton:
To view results for Monday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Monday Results – Fredericton Raceway.