LONDON, Ontario . . . Mark MacDonald, one of harness
racing’s most talented drivers, made his return to The Raceway at Western Fair
District where he made his start and was leading driver for several seasons,
and captured two of the four City Of London finals tonight, part of the Molson
Pace undercard.
The third and fastest City Of London final, a $38,200
contest for pacing distaffers, had tons of action with MacDonald, now a regular
on the New York circuit, scoring a victory. As the race got underway Trevor
Henry and Face To Face overtook Miss Brandi K by the :27.3 opening panel.
She hit the half in :55.3 with pressure from favourite
Milliondollar Babe who was neck and neck with the leader down the backside but
they were both overtaken by Lyons Katrina and MacDonald, who’d been stalking
second over, and were absolutely flying by the 1:25.4 three-quarters.
Lyons Katrina slowed in the stretch but held on to win in
1:57.1. Played By Anangel was a close second followed by Miss Brandi K.
It was first lifetime win for Lyons Katrina, a
three-year-old daughter of Major In Art owned by Geoffrey Lyons of Burford,
Ontario and trained by James Morrison. Bred by Bill Loyens of London, Ontario,
the filly is the second foal from $457,000 winner Milliondollarsmile, her first
being $482,000 winner Windsong Jack.
The fourth and final City Of London final, the $39,000
test for pacing horses, saw MacDonald and Fortune Playboy cutting the pace
early as he hit the opening quarter in :27.3. He had pressure from Teranadawn
at the :57.2 half but rebuffed that challenge and hit the three-quarters in
1:26 and held his position through the wire in 1:57.3. Hussys Blu Boy was
second with Decroft Havaball third.
Fortune Playboy, a four-year-old gelding by Rambaran, was
recording his seventh win in 10 starts this year for trainer Patrick Shepherd
and owner Holland Racing Stable of Niagara On The Lake, Ontario.
In the $35,600 final for male trotters it ended up being
a four horse race thanks to a late scratch and several breakers in the early
going. That allowed Trevor Henry and Shadywood Kid easy access to the front end
early and they never relinquished it.
The three-year-old gelding by Pegasus Spur tripped off
splits of :29, 1:00.2 and 1:30.4 and was
a comfortable winner in 2:01.3 over Crime Novel and Kdazzle. Henry, the leader
driver at The Raceway, co-owns the winner with John MacLeod who bred the
Shadywood Kid with Henry’s father Ross.
Trained by Shannon Henry, Shadywood Kid was recording his
first lifetime win in his 11th attempt.
An exciting photo finish took place in the $34,800 final
for mare trotters which saw Ja El Diamond setting the early tempo for Steve
Byron through fractions of :29.3, 1:01.2 and 1:31.1. Heroine Seelster sat the
pocket the entire mile and was trapped in that spot until late going when she
finally found racing room and trotted up quickly but was just a nose short at
the wire in 2:02.1. Oaklea Wand was third.
Pat Hunt trains the winner, a three-year-old daughter of
Angus Hall owned by Glengate Farms of Campbellville, Ontario. Unraced last year
at two, Ja El Diamond now has three wins in six starts this year for $31,000 in
earnings.
