CAMPBELLVILLE, OCT. 26, 2001 — In spite of a rain soaked track rated three second slower than normal, three-year-old trotting colt Liberty Balance made short work of a field of his Ontario-sired peers on Friday night.
Regular driver Randy Waples sent the Breeder’s Crown champion to the front from Post 7 and sailed around the Mohawk Racetrack oval unchallenged in 1:58. 3. The duo logged fractions of :29, :58.3 and 1:28.2 on the way to their eighth straight victory.
Royal Pocket finished six and three-quarter lengths back in second and Bionic Ballad was another length back in third.
Liberty Balance boosted his record to 11 wins and four seconds in 16 starts and $852,818 in earnings for owners Tom and Elizabeth Rankin of St. Catharines. With another $50,000 available to the winner of next Saturday’s Gold Final and $250,000 up for grabs in the Nov. 10 Super Final, Liberty Balance is poised to go over the $1 million mark in earnings in his first season of racing.
Liberty Balance is also eligible to the Canadian Breeders Championship, the last stake on his schedule before a well earned winter vacation, and trainer Pat Hunt says the gelding will be back on the racetrack next year.
“He’ll race next year. I don’t know where yet, it depends on how he finishes off this year and how much rest he gets,” says the Cambridge resident. “There’s a lot of money around for the aged horses too, but if he want to race with the good boys we’ll have to give him a good rest.”
With Royal Glory scratched from Friday’s Elimination, all 10 starters advance to the $100,000 Gold Series Final on Nov. 3. At the conclusion of the Nov. 3 event the points are tallied and the top 10 point earners will return to Mohawk on Nov. 10 for their $250,000 Super Final, one of eight Super Finals that will be contested that evening.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT SANDRA SNYDER AT 519-656-2017 (TEL./FAX) OR smsnyder@sentex.net.