Lexis D J, driven by Ross Battin, stormed home off a three-hole trip to prevail in the featured $11,000 Preferred 2 Handicap Trot on Wednesday evening at Grand River Raceway.
Indiana Hall (Scott Coulter) was the first to fire off the gate while Sarkozy (Mario Baillargeon) and Worth The Money As (Billy Davis Jr.) made breaks at the start. However, post five starter Canbec Fridolin (Anthony MacDonald) rolled up to take over command in the early going and hit the first quarter mark in :28-seconds.
The leading favourite proceeded to the half in :58 and three-quarters in 1:28.1 while Hesgotlegs (Robert Shepherd) attempted a first over move from fourth, but stalled without making much progress before backing away.
Canbec Fridolin held a two length lead on his foes entering the stretch, but Lexis D J was quickly set in motion and powered home to score by a neck in a season's best 1:56.4. Indiana Hall finished one and three-quarter lengths behind in third.
Lexis D J's :28-second final kicker was his second fastest closing quarter of his career.
The five-year-old Amigo Hall gelding, who entered the race off a pair of qualifying wins at Flamboro Downs and Mohawk Racetrack, earned his eighth victory of the season from 23 starts while pushing his seasonal bankroll to $78,700 for trainer Shane Arsenault and owners Louis and Brandon Arsenault.
The winner returned $7.30 to his backers.
To view Wednesday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Wednesday Results - Grand River Raceway.