Eden Onthehill set a new record at Grand River Raceway on Friday, Sept. 5 while his trainer Mark Goddard swept the second leg of a Pop-Up Series.
Goddard-trained trotters Eden Onthehill ($2.20), driven by Austin Sorrie, and Cadillac Moon ($28.60), with Nick Boyd driving, won their respective $9,000 divisions in a Pop-Up Series for horses that have started for a purse of $6,000 or less in their last start. The former romped by more than 15 lengths in a 1:53.4 mile as the heavy 1-9 favourite while the latter prevailed by less than a length in 1:55.3 for a 13-1 pocket-popping upset over popular pacesetter Royalty Beer. Both winners are sons of Muscle Hill and both are owned by Pennsylvania's Howard and Joshua Kaufman.
Eden Onthehill's winning time was a new track record for older trotting stallions, knocking three-fifths of a second off the former record that was set by Tymal Riggs last year. The overall male trotting record stands at 1:52.3, held by gelding Macallan.
After sitting third through opening panels of :27 and :56.2, Eden Onethehill took command then took off to three-quarters in 1:24.4 en route to his 10th career victory while lifting his earnings to $188,265. No one was near the six-year-old trotter at the finish line, including the runner-up named No One (Bruce Richardson) and third-place finisher The Great Reset (Lorne House).
Ontario-sired two-year-old Prospect Series pacers invaded Grand River on Friday evening for the 4B leg with Cabo San Luca ($19.90) earning his third win in the series. Overlooked at odds of 8-1 in the first $8,000 colt and gelding division, the Kyle Fellows trainee closed from third in a :28.2 last quarter to win in 1:55.1 by one length over pocket-popper Just Givener (Samuel Fillion) and the pacesetting divisional point leader Starbright Dancer (Daryl Thiessen). The Bettors Delight-Spring Break colt is now four-for-six in his young career for Pennsylvania owner Hutt Racing Stable.
Driven by Stephen Byron, 2-5 favourite Allstar Cords ($2.90) was the fastest Prospect winner of the night when he held off Calypso Creek (Damian MacLellan) by a neck to take the evening's second event for male pacers in a 1:55 mile. A son of Century Farroh and Riot Grrl, the gelding has finished no worse then second in his first five career starts for trainer Dale Heard and owner Antonio Tangreda of Kettleby, Ont. The three-time winner followed up a 10-length romp a week and a half ago in a Prospect starters conditioned race at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Amazing Addy ($16.10) had her breakthrough moment in the first and fastest of three $8,000 filly divisions in rein to Anthony Haughan as she defeated the favoured divisional point leader, Stompa (Daryl Thiessen), by three-quarters of a length in 1:56.3. A seven-time starter trained by John Pentland and owned by Hutt Racing Stable, the Shadow Play-Glass Maker had a pair of runner-up finishes through the first four Prospect legs before making it into the win column.
Driven by Austin Sorrie, Jalapeno Cheddar ($6.10) broke her maiden in her seventh career start with a 1:57 pocket-popping Prospect score over Half Mast (Jason Ryan), winning by one length as the 2-1 bettors' choice. Anthony Beaton trains the Betterthancheddar-Express Writer filly for owner Robert Bridges of Campbellville, Ont.
The other filly division was won by the Susie Kerwood-trained Duvutos Shadow ($14.50) and Bruce Richardson in 1:58 flat. The daughter of Shadow Play out of Desiree Hanover rallied three-wide from the backfield turning for home and out-sprinted favourite Atomic Bet (Samuel Fillion) by a nose in a photo finish. A previous winner in an overnight race for Prospect freshmen in late July, the six-time starter notched her second career victory for owners Frank & Camille Brundle of East Garafraxa, Ont.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Grand River Raceway.
(Standardbred Canada; photo of Eden Onthehill winning on Sept. 5)