SARNIA, ON — A pair of talented three-year-old pacing fillies put on a speed show for Hiawatha Horse Park fans on Saturday night, with Plumbing Princess chalking up her second straight record setting mile.
Stepping up to the starting gate from Post 5 in the first of two $34,648 Trillium Series divisions, driver Brad Forward eased Plumbing Princess into fifth as fan favourite Prairie Tracker battled her way to a :26 opening quarter. Heading for the :55.2 half, Forward shifted Plumbing Princess to the outside behind Dreamfair Zoya and by the time they reached the 1:23.2 three-quarters the young reinsman was spinning the filly out three-wide and gunning for the lead.
By the top of the stretch Plumbing Princess had taken a two length lead and she had added a quarter length’s worth of insurance by the time she hit the wire in a track record 1:52.3. Alias Seelster delivered a strong performance to finish second, while Prairie Tracker ended her Ontario win streak at four with a third-place effort.
The win stripped two-fifths of a second off the former three-year-old pacing filly track record set by Ontario Sires Stakes competitor Countryview Miss in 2001. Plumbing Princess now has her name written in the record books at two ovals; she matched the track record at Clinton Raceway on July 9 with a 1:56 effort.
Duane Marfisi trains Plumbing Princess for Irving Storfer of Toronto and Alvin Stein of Ottawa. The partners also bred the daughter of Astreos and Alliwannabe, who boasts a record of six wins and one second in 10 starts.
The speed show continued in the second Trillium division as Gold Series regular Draconian Promise fired straight to the front from Post 2 and posted fractions of :27.4, :58.2 and 1:25.4 on her way to a five length victory in 1:53.2. Ja El Astrelegant battled through a tough trip around the outside of the five-eighths mile oval to finish second, while Lifesawitch finished nine lengths behind the leader in third.
The 1:53.2 was a personal best for Draconian Promise and marked her first appearance in the winner’s circle this season through seven starts. The daughter of Rustler Hanover and Ladytese had finished second in her last three races, including the July 9 Gold Final at Windsor Raceway.
Paul Mackenzie picked up the reins on the fan favourite for trainer Jason McGinnis and owners Cully Keetch and Lawrence Simon of Hamilton. The partners have banked a total of $168,504 on the filly’s behalf through her freshman and sophomore seasons.
The three-year-old pacing fillies make their third and final Trillium Series start at Kawartha Downs on Oct. 26. The resume their Ontario Sires Stakes schedule on the first weekend in August when the Gold Series fillies head to Flamboro Downs on Aug. 5 and the Grassroots fillies mix it up at Sudbury Downs on Aug. 6.
The Ontario Sires Stakes speed show returns to Hiawatha Horse Park on Thursday, Aug. 10 with Grassroots action for the outstanding three-year-old pacing colts.
For complete results please go to:
http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/results/data/rsarfsa.html