Evenin Of Pleasure was sent off at odds of 35 to 1 in tonight’s harness racing $150,000 Molson Pace, the signature race of The Raceway at Western Fair District. Luckily the horse didn’t read the tote board.
As the race got underway Mark MacDonald and Sunfire Blue Chip and Evenin Of Pleasure with Sylvain Filion up both vied for the early lead. Filion quickly decided to tuck in behind in second which proved the winning move.
Sunfire Blue Chip, looking to give MacDonald his first Molson Pace win in 10 tries, rattled off fractions of :26.3, :55.2 and 1:23 but was caught in the stretch by the garden spot sitting Evenin Of Pleasure who hit the wire first in 1:50.3. The time established a new track record, shaving a tick off the previous mark set by MacDonald and Tigerama in 2008.
Sunfire Blue Chip held for second after the impressive performance. McWicked claimed the show spot while All Bets Off and P H Supercam took the final two cheques. State Treasurer, vying for his fourth straight Molson title, hit some traffic trouble as the field paced through the backstretch the second time and finished sixth.
“When I was able to get the two hole, I was hoping Mark would keep on going, which he did,” explained Filion minutes after the winner’s circle presentation. “My horse felt super good, around the last turn I knew he had a good shot and he gave all he could, he raced really well.
“Last time he raced (a sixth place finish in the Preferred at Mohawk on May 14) he came up real flat, they scoped him after the race and he wasn’t 100 per cent. You have to give credit to Richard (trainer Richard Moreau) he did some work and my God he was good tonight.”
When asked if he was worried about race favourites, All Bets Off and State Treasurer, Filion responded: “I was just looking ahead of me and hoping I wouldn’t see them. I really don’t know what happened, all I know is we’re in the winner’s circle right now. It’s nice to see the crowd like this, it’s a great ambiance and I’m looking forward to coming back.”
It was the first win in 2016 for Evenin Of Pleasure, a six-year-old son of Dragon Again owned by Gestion JY Blais Inc., of Montreal, Quebec. Tonight’s effort put his lifetime earnings over the $600,000 mark. He paid $74.30 to win.
Molson Pace Undercard
Molson Pace night kicked off with four City of London Series finals starting with the $36,200 test for male trotters which saw On The Ridge wear down pacesetter Muscle Bound to win in 2:01. Muscle Bound held for second while The Big Muscle took third. Trainer Garrett Rooney, who co-owns the three-year-old son of Kadabra with Angela Carroll of Iona, Ontario, also guided the horse to victory. Unraced last year at two, On The Ridge now has six wins in 13 outings this year for $49,000 earned.
The $39,000 City Of London final for male pacers saw heavy favourite Irvine James leave hard from post seven for driver Mark Williams and they were in charge well before the opening quarter of :28.4 and never looked back to win in 1:58.1 over Mid Town Mickey and Sly Baran. It was the second straight win for the four-year-old gelding by Mach Three owned, trained and bred by William Kirkpatrick of Amherstburg, Ontario.
The girls were next in the spotlight with the trotting mares’ final worth $37,400 going to Shes All Muscle and The Raceway’s leading driver Alfie Carroll who led at every station and hit the wire first in 2:02. Angel Assault closed well to take second while Burning Memories was third. Jamie Wilson trains the winner, a three-year-old filly by Muscle Mass for owner Chris Wilson of Dashwood, Ontario.
The $40,600 Final for pacing mares saw a great battle between two three-year-old daughters of Mach Three, You Mach Me Crazy and Machioda with the former prevailing in the fastest of the City Of London tests, 1:56.3. Machioda held for second while Stonebridge Medusa took third. Trevor Henry, the leading driver at The Raceway for many years, and now the leading driver on the WEG circuit, orchestrated the win for trainer Andrew McCabe and owner Glenview Livestock of Wallenstein, Ontario.
The jam packed race card also featured the two finals of the Alliance Claiming Series. In the first, for pacing horses, Red Leaf Morgan and Jody Jamieson scored in 1:57.1 over Lis Deo and Howdy Partner. James Watt trains the victor, a 12 year-old son of Artist Stena for owner Rebecca Williamson of Blyth, Ontario.
The $13,500 Alliance final for mares was taken by Passion Quizrace and James MacDonald who went gate to wire in 1:56.1 to defeat a fast closing Andro Madi. Carsons Cashin was third. It was the fourth win this year for the 10 year-old Blissfull Hall daughter owned by Auciello Stables of Stouffville, Ontario and trained by Carmen Auciello.
Tonight also kicked of the 2016 Ontario Sires Stakes season with three $70,000 Gold divisions for three-year-old pacing colts won by Magnum J, Print Media and Sintra.
Greg Blanchard