Driver John MacDonald is well on his way to putting up career numbers in 2008, and on Thursday evening he climbed closer to achieving those goals by sweeping a pair of Preferred events at Rideau Carleton Raceway.
Match Bayama was a popular winner for MacDonald and trainer Sebastien Giroux in the $13,400 Preferred Pace. The six-year-old son of Goliath Bayama rallied from just off the pace to win the eight-horse affair in a time of 1:54.3.
The gelding, who defeated Faust Blue Chip and Gogogadetgo, is owned by Les Ecuries Giroux Inc., Kevin Skilton and Jacques Caron. It was the pacer's second consecutive victory in the Preferred ranks, and it pushed his lifetime earnings to $224,282.
Mr Garjangles notched his third win of the season when he front-stepped his way to a 1:58.2 score in the $13,400 Preferred Trot for the duo of MacDonald and trainer Lisa Vanderwal.
The eight-year-old son of Mr Lavec was a length better than runner-up Rate Exchange. T Js Mr Lavec rounded out the top three.
Mitchell Vanderwal of Mallorytown owns the classy veteran, who won for the 21st time in his career and bumped his bankroll to $268,581.
To view Thursday's results, click here.