DUNDAS, ON — After battling sickness through the past two weeks, Whatthehecklavec returned to competition on Friday afternoon at Flamboro Downs and demonstrated the winning style that earned her $271,815 this season.
From the moment the three-year-old trotting filly and trainer-driver Randy Fritz fired to the front from Post 7 in the first of three $22,154 Trillium Series divisions, the outcome was never in question. The pair cruised through the snow to a four length victory in 2:01.4 to wrap up a season that saw them win 10 of 17 starts and finish second in four more.
Dream On Bernie earned the runner-up’s share of the Trillium purse and Cheque Lavec, owned by trainer Mike Keeling of Cambridge and Ron Keeling of Owen Sound, rounded out the top three.
The Gold Series point leader, Whatthehecklavec was scratched out of last weekend’s Super Final due to sickness, so Carlisle resident Fritz and his partners Jennifer and Gwendowyn Unger of Caledon were relieved to see the Mr Lavec daughter bounce back with a victory Friday.
Trainer Philip Coole was also pleased with his filly’s performance. Heading into the second Trillium division off a break in a Nov. 8 overnight at Woodbine Racetrack, Sensual Hall delivered a flawless performance to clock the fastest mile of the three divisions. The Garland Lobell daughter and driver Tony Kerwood hit the wire three lengths up on the competition in 2:00.4.
Coole trains Sensual Hall, who has amassed a record of six wins, four seconds and seven thirds in 29 starts, for Idylwood Stables Inc. of Peterborough and Watkins Equine Inc. of Newcastle.
Enjoy The Flight circled three-wide at the three-quarters to claim the second-place finisher’s share and Matties Charm, owned by Wayne Preston of Orillia, Harold Stead Stable Inc. of Moffat and Decision Theory Inc. of Richmond Hill, trotted into third.
The final Trillium division went to another Gold Series regular, World Class Image, who cruised around the Dundas oval on the front end to score the 2:01.3 victory. Gaelic and Chelemark Twiggy were more than two lengths behind the leader in second and third.
Cambridge resident Pat Hunt trains World Class Image for Thomas and Elizabeth Rankin of St. Catharines. Friday’s victory was the Balanced Image lass’s third in 10 starts and boosted her sophomore season earnings to $122,720.
The Trillium battle marked the end of the Ontario Sires Stakes season for the three-year-old trotting fillies and concluded Flamboro Downs’s provincial stakes schedule. The Dundas oval will open its doors to a new crop of talented young trotters and pacers next season, the program’s thirty-third year of fostering excellence in harness racing.
For complete results please go to:
http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/results/data/rflmdfr.html