Pair of rookie stake finals headline Thursday card at Fraser Downs

The finals for harness racing two-year-old fillies and colts & geldings are the main event on the Thursday card at Fraser Downs. Eight fillies are entered in the Betty Millbank Memorial, while nine of the top colts & geldings are in the Robert Millbank Memorial. Both races will have the eighth horse on the gate, and the nine will be the only one in the second tier.

RACE 7: BC BRED STAKES #25 BETTY MILLBANK MEMORIAL 2YO FILLIES FINAL – $100,000 

1. Senorita Draco (6-1)  
2. Lumby Dragon (8-1)  
3. Over Ice (3-5)  
4. Great Emotion (4-1)  
5. Is He Watching (10-1)  
6. Vintage Lass (12-1)  
7. Wednesdays Child (15-1)                
8. The Divine Miss M (20-1)

Over Ice (Custard The Dragon) is a perfect four-for-four, and she has easily won all her starts. She has consistently won wire-to-wire and has never really been tested. Over Ice is the only filly in the field with a sub-1:56 win time. Her last mile was 2:01, but she won handily by three lengths.

If you are looking for one horse to make the upset, Great Emotion (Domitian) is the best choice. After winning back-to-back times, she has finished second place twice behind Over Ice. Her lifetime mark 1:56 is the second fastest in the field, and she has the most races under her belt heading into the final.

Lumby Dragon (Custard The Dragon) has two wins and a lifetime mark of 1:56.3. She hasn’t had the same success since moving to British Columbia, but she showed potential when racing in Alberta. Her best finish at Fraser Downs was a second-place finish in the first leg, and she finished just behind Over Ice. Since then, it has been difficult for her to secure a top spot. Now, with some bigger money on the line, it is her time to shine and come up big on Thursday.

My Picks 3-4-2

RACE 10: BC BRED STAKES #25 ROBERT MILLBANK MEMORIAL 2YO COLTS AND GELDINGS’ FINAL – $100,000 

1. Outlawstaythcourse (10-1)  
2. Nothing Bugs Me (4-1)  
3. Key Dragon (8-1)  
4. Iknowbetter (3-1)
5. Moneybags (12-1)  
6. Phone Nine One One (6-1)  
7. Buddy Knocks (2-1)  
8. Mcmoney (15-1)  
9. Sylvester (20-1)

Buddy Knocks (Betterthancheddar) is also perfect, four-for-four heading into the finals. His best mile time is 1:55.0, and his slowest win time was the 1:56.1 he put up last week in the third leg. Buddy Knocks is another horse that likes to get to the front end early and win wire-to-wire. He has one line that shows he got a perfect pocket trip, but otherwise, he always has the front end. He must line up wideout, but that hasn’t been an issue.

Nothing Bugs Me (Custard The Dragon) has the lifetime mark of 1:56.1, but he has a 1:54 time recorded on his lines when he finished second behind Wannabeabigstar, who didn’t draw into the finals after falling down the stretch last week. Nothing Bugs Me has shown the speed needed to win and will have post-relief.

Iknowbetter (Bettarthancheddar) got his first career win his last start and will be looking to make it two in a row. He paced the mile in 1:55.4 and beat Nothing Bugs Me that day. Iknowbetter has never finished worse than third in his career, and that likely won’t change on Thursday.

My Picks: 7-2-4

Fraser Downs kicks off at 7:00 p.m. PDT.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Trey Colbeck, for Harnesslink