The wagering public was enamoured with St Lads Popcorn and Bale Me Out in their respective Trillium Series assignments at Rideau Carleton Raceway on Friday evening, and both fillies lived up to their odds-on promises.
Bale Me Out only needed to pace a mile in 1:58 to take home the lion's share of the $40,347 purse in the first division for the duo of trainer Randy Van Meer and driver Aaron Byron.
The daughter of Aces N Sevens, who was sent off at odds of 4-5, was a going away winner despite being parked virtually every step of the mile. Quality Goods was next best in the six-filly affair and Chatelaine recovered from a break to finish third.
Harry Locke of Oshawa, ON bred and owns the youngster, who now owns a 2-1-2 record from just seven starts. Her bankroll climbed to $73,608 with the victory.
St Lads Popcorn garnered 1-9 respect from the Rideau Carleton prognosticators, and she won like a 1-9 shot should. The filly was a comfortable length in front of the nearest challenger in a time of 1:56.4 for the tandem of trainer Jack Darling and driver Jason Brewer.
The streaking daughter of Twin B Champ brushed to command shortly past the mid-way point of the mile, and she was on cruise control from that point on. She led by three lengths at the top of the stretch before coasting home in :30.3 to handily defeated Stonebridge Breeze and Allstar Salute.
It was the fifth consecutive victory for the precocious pacer, who upped her earnings to $226,323 for Jack Darling Stables Ltd. of Cambridge, ON.
To view Thursday's results, click here.