The Raceway at the Western Fair District is set to host the Autumn Series Final for two- and three-year-old Ontario-sired pacing colts and geldings this Friday (Oct. 29).
The top eight money earners from the two legs contested, on Oct. 15 and 22, will battle for the lion’s share of $25,600.
The Shadow Play rookie Unlaced will look to sweep the series for veteran trainer Blair Burgess. He kicked off his winning ways in leg one of the series by taking over the lead around the final turn and pulling away to a 3-1/4-length, lifetime best score. Unlaced returned the following week and lowered his lifetime best by a fifth of a second and secured his spot in the final. An inside post draw certainly adds to this contender’s chances of winning the final.
Unlaced will face Spicey P and Hippyjohn, who both bypassed the second leg of the series after winning their opening-round divisions. Hippyjohn, trained by Gregg McNair, recently made the move to Ontario after racking up five wins at Inverness Raceway. The three-year-old Betterthancheddar gelding made two starts over Woodbine Mohawk Park, including a second-place finish in a ‘non-winners of one’ event, before making the trek to the Forest City oval. In his Autumn Series debut, he lived up to his heavy favourite status by dominating in a lifetime best of 1:56.4 and winning by double-digit lengths.
O’Brien Award-winning driver Doug McNair will pick be in the sulky for Friday’s final.
“He’s a handy little horse with quick speed,” says McNair. “I think he can carry it pretty far.”
Hippyjohn has drawn the tough outside post seven, but past performances indicate he should be up for the task.
The $25,600 Autumn Series final is set to go off in race six, at about 6:45 p.m. Eastern. First race post time for the 11-race card is 4:50 p.m. High definition live streaming and free programs are available at the Western Fair website.
To view Friday's complete entries, click the following link: Friday Entries – The Raceway at the Western Fair District.
(The Raceway at the Western Fair District)