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Sunday, October 28, 2012

Bettor Sweet wins BC Open Pace


It appears as if October at Woodbine is the perfect season for Bettor Sweet. The seven-year-old gelding made it back-to-back Breeders Crown Opens with an awesome 1:49 1/5 score in the $500,000 contest closing out the dozen race Crown card.

Driver Dave Miller had a mission from the start and it had to do with getting to the front. Despite leaving from post seven Bettor Sweet jetted out and tucked behind known speedster Golden Receiver. The dust had hardly settled after the :26 2/5 opening quarter before Miller elected to put the usual stalker on the front end.

Bettor Sweet had the lead in the :55 opening half and seemed more than well equipped to handle what would be next.

Yannick Gingras, looking for his fourth Crown winner of the night had the incredible veteran Foiled Again primed for a second move after finding a spot inside early. Foiled Again moved with purpose towards the winner on the final turn and locked horns with him through a spirited :27 4/5 third quarter.

The battle between those two warhorses didn’t pan out in the homestretch as Bettor Sweet, owned by John Cancelliere and trained by his brother Tom, sprinted away from the field with a slick :26 2/5 final quarter.

Early pacesetter Golden Receiver outdueled Foiled Again for the place spot with Foreclosure N finishing fourth.

“Nobody challenged him until the stretch and by that time he took off,” said winning driver Dave Miller.

For Bettor Sweet it was his third straight victory after losing his first 14 starts of 2012.

Put On A Show, attempting to become the first pacing mare to capture the Open, got away poorly from the rail and was unable to get into the race at any point.

Bettor Sweet, sent off as the 7-5 favorite returned $4.90 for a $2 wager.

The owner confirmed after the race that this would be Bettor Sweet’s last race of the season.