Benefiting from a pocket trip through hot fractions, Define The World and driver Paul MacDonell set a new world record for three-year-old trotting geldings with a 1:54.2 score in the $140,000 Gold Final as part of Confederation Cup Sunday at Flamboro Downs.
As B Strike Three (Rick Zeron) cut fractions of :27.4, :56.2 and 1:24.4, it was a two-horse race as the loose pocket sitter Define The World started to make up ground after the three-quarter marker.
Around the final turn, MacDonell pulled the pocket and pounced on the pacesetter for a classic stretch duel. At the wire, Define The World was better by a head in a new world record of 1:54.2 with full marks to B Strike Three for his oustanding performance as well. Mccarron (Trevor Ritchie) finished far back in third.
"The track is phenomenally fast," commented Paul MacDonell after the win. "Once in a while [Define The World] will shy away from things, he does look around a bit. I almost lost him in the stretch but he caught himself."
John Bax trains Define The World (Duke Of York - Venice Holiday), a homebred of Pickering, Ont.'s Al Libfeld with eight wins in 15 starts this year and over $318,000 in the bank. The time of the mile puts Define World in the record books as a new track, Ontario Sires Stakes, Canadian and world rcord holder. The former record for three-year-old trotting geldings belonged to Green Day, who trotted Maywood Park in 1:55.1 last year.
For the lines from Flamboro's Confederation Cup card, click here.