Jtlady Strong made the winning move at the half and held off the odds-on favourite, Gostreet, to triumph in the featured $15,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred Trot
on Saturday night at Georgian Downs.
Anthony MacDonald fired the five-year-old Angus Hall-Brisco Maud mare off the gate from Post 4 and established the early lead, but Jtlady Strong gave way to Countess Stormont (Jonathan Drury) past the opening quarter in :27.4. No Pain No Gain (Bill O’Donnell) rolled up and landed the lead shortly after before Jtlady Strong steam rolled to the front of the field after the :57.3 half-mile marker. The 6-1 fifth choice worked up a two and a half length lead by three-quarters in 1:26.3, which allowed her to hold off a hard-closing Gostreet (Kelly Sheppard) in the stretch. Jtlady Strong stopped the clock in 1:56.3, winning by one and three-quarter lengths. Desperatehousewife (Todd Ratchford) rounded out the top three.
Norm Jones trains and owns Jtlady Strong with Elgin Strong of Oakville and John Toma of Mississauga, Ont. Her fourth win in 21 seasonal starts lifted her earnings to $86,815. For Jtlady Strong, the win was number 15 and pushed her career earnings to $347,380.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click here.