LONDON, On — Lady D M went back to her hometown oval for the last Trillium Series event of the season and delivered the kind of effortless performance fans at Western Fair Raceway first glimpsed last November.
Leaving from Post 4 the three-year-old pacing filly and driver Ross Battin out muscled Lady Megan O for the lead at the :28.1 opening quarter and then built on their lead through fractions of :57.3 and 1:27.4. At the wire the fan favourites were three and a half length victors in a smart 1:56.4.
Lady Megan O earned the runner-up share of the $34,380 Trillium purse and Be In My Shadow picked up the third-place cheque, crossing the wire seven and a quarter lengths behind the winner.
Andy Hardy trains Lady D M for Parkinson Farms of Lucan and, along with Battin, engineered an impressive season for the D M Dilinger daughter. Through 23 starts she recorded eight wins, 10 seconds and one third for earnings of $386,977. Among her wins were the first two Gold Finals of the season and the Silver Reign Series final at Woodbine Racetrack back in March.
The talented youngster made her racing debut at Western Fair Raceway last November, scoring five straight victories before she made her first trip to Woodbine for the Miss Vera Bars Series, and then coming home to post two more wins in February before heading back down the highway for her successful run in the Silver Reign Series.
While fans at the London oval were already familiar with Lady D M’s ability, they also accurately assessed the talents of the other Trillium division winner Armbro Caviar.
Sent off as the heavy favourite, Armbro Caviar battled to a three-quarter length victory over Fannies Fortune in Race 1. The Western Hanover daughter and trainer-driver Dave Smith fought off Fannies Fortune to claim the lead in the opening quarter, and then held her at bay down the stretch to score the 1:57.4 victory.
Landfair Jenna, owned by Janet McHugh of Ingersoll, was well back of the leaders in third.
The win was Armbro Caviar’s fourth in 20 starts this season and boosted her lifetime bank balance to $96,694. Owned by Big Al’s Stables Inc. of Thornhill, Armbro Caviar collected cheques in stakes action all summer, but Saturday’s effort marked her first stake victory.
Saturday’s event also marked the end of the Trillium season for the three-year-old pacing fillies, and the end of the Ontario Sires Stakes season for Western Fair Raceway. Fans at the London oval were treated to five provincial stakes events this year and can look forward to more exciting Sires Stakes action when the program embarks on its thirty-third season next spring.
For complete results please go to:
http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/results/data/rlonsa.html