ELORA, ON — Buffeted by extreme weather, Grand River Raceway was forced to cancel its program of racing after just two Gold Series divisions had gone to the post on Friday, Sept. 20.
One freshman pacing filly division and one freshman trotting filly division were completed before the severe thunderstorms arrived. The remaining divisions, two for the trotting fillies and one for the pacing lasses, will be contested as non-betting events before the Elora oval’s Sunday evening program. The non-wagering events will begin at 5 pm, with the regularly scheduled card getting under way at 6 pm.
Racing over a fast track in the second race of the evening, the $105,000 division of two-year-old pacing fillies did their part to give fans their money’s worth in spite of the abbreviated program. Starting from Post 5 Porsche Seelster sprinted away from the starting gate to a :27.1 opening quarter, but was quickly under siege from favourite Alibi Seelster, who took over before the :56.2 half.
Alibi Seelster carried on to a 1:25.1 three-quarters and was on top by a length turning for home, but the rest of the field was just shifting into gear. In spite of traveling up the outside through the bulk of the race, Performing Art was able to put a nose in front of Alibi Seelster, Porsche Seelster and Medoland Lindeylou at the wire. All four fillies were clocked in 1:56.1.
Otis Hall conditions Performing Art for Sauble Hill Farms of Tara and his Nasussito Racing Inc. of Ayr. Cambridge resident Billy Davis Jr. guided the Shadow Play daughter to her first lifetime victory, assuring her of a berth in next weekend’s Super Final.
The $70,000 trotting filly division saw Toughs Legacy trot to a four length win in 2:01 in spite of a racing surface that had been downgraded to sloppy and three seconds slower than normal. The Kadabra daughter and Guelph resident Paul MacDonell bested Flexible Woman and Tosca.
Richard “Nifty” Norman conditions Toughs Legacy for Melvin Hartman of Ottawa, Herb Liverman of Miami Beach, FL and David McDuffee of Delray Beach, FL. The filly’s first lifetime win also boosted her from sixteenth in the point standings into the top 10. The top 10 point earners advance to the $200,000 Super Final at Mohawk Racetrack on Sept. 28.
The remaining contestants for the rich freshman filly Super Finals will be decided following Sunday’s trio of rescheduled Gold Series divisions, which get under way at 5 pm over the Grand River Raceway oval.
For complete results please go to Grand River Raceway Results