Big battle brewing in the two-year-old B.C. Bred Stakes

The stake season for harness racing two-year-old in British Columbia continues Thursday (Oct. 5) evening at Fraser Downs. The fillies have one division of the Betty Millbank Memorial, while the boys will be split into two divisions of the Robert Millbank Memorial.

RACE 7: BC BRED STAKES #25 BETTY MILLBANK MEMORIAL 2YO FILLIES 2ND LEG – $20,000 

1. Vintage Lass (10-1)
2. Great Emotion (8-5
3. Over Ice (6-5)
4. Senorita Draco (8-1)
5. Martini Please (6-1)
6. Catchmegracefully (12-1)
7. Lumby Dragon (9-2)

Over Ice (Custard The Dragon) wants to extend her record to a perfect three-for-three to start her career. She paced her debut mile in 1:56.0 and followed that up with a 1:56.4 in the first leg. Over Ice lines up in post position three and will have Brandon Campbell in the bike.

Great Emotion (Domitian) won the other division in the first leg last week. She paced hers in 1:56.0. She has been racing just as well as Over Ice, but it took her some time to get to this point. It will be tight between Great Emotion and Over Ice. Great Emotion has come off the pace to get the win before, so even if she gets stuck behind Over Ice early, it doesn’t mean she is out of it.

I went with Lumby Dragon (Custard The Dragon) in the first leg and was impressed with her second-place finish behind Over Ice. However, not only will she have the rematch with Over Ice, but Great Emotion gets added to the mix. Lumby Dragon has yet to finish worse than second in her four career starts, but this could be the first time with the competition she’s facing in this one.

My Picks: 3-2-7

RACE 5: BC BRED STAKES #25 ROBERT MILLBANK MEMORIAL 2YO COLTS AND GELDINGS 2ND LEG (1ST DIV)- $15,000 

1. Phone Nine One One (3-1)
2. Betterthanluck (8-1)
3. Moneybags (5-1)
4. Oscar The Grouch (12-1)
5. Thereallkents (20-1)
6. Iknowbetter (4-1)
7. Buddy Knocks (2-1)
8. Outlawstaythcourse (6-1)
9. Iyam A Vertical (15-1)

Buddy Knocks (Bettarthancheddar) will also be looking to go three-for-three to start his career. He won last week in 1:55.3, which is only one-fifth of a second off his lifetime mark. He has won wire-to-wire in his two previous starts, but this will be the farther post position he has yet to deal with. Buddy Knocks did have a qualifying mile where he came from post position five and had the lead wire-to-wire. Seeing how he will handle it for real this time will be interesting.

Deuces are wild when it comes to Iknowbetter (Betterthancheddar). In two starts, he has finished second place both times! He completed his mile last week faster than Buddy Knocks but came up just half a length short of catching Wannabeabigstar. Iknowbetter could sneak into the winner’s circle and will have some value at the betting windows if too much money is put on the morning line favourite.

Phone Nine One One (Custard The Dragon) finished second behind Buddy Knocks last week. He came from the far outside and coasted with a pocket trip the whole way around. This time, he gets the rail, and with Buddy Knocks, Iknowbetter and others potentially fighting for the early lead, the race could set up similarly for him.

My Picks: 7-6-1

RACE 8: C BRED STAKES #25 ROBERT MILLBANK MEMORIAL 2YO COLTS AND GELDINGS 2ND LEG (2ND DIV) – $15,000 

1. Pull The Trigger (10-1)
2. Living To The Max (8-1)
3. Key Dragon (5-1)
4. Ali Gator (15-1)
5. Nothininmoderation (20-1)
6. Nothing Bugs Me (9-5)
7. Mcmoney (6-1)
8. Wannabeabigstar (8-5)
9. Sylvester (12-1)

Wannabeabigstar (Shadow Play) had the fastest mile time in any of the leg one divisions. 1:54.2 is a solid time for him to build off of heading deeper into the stake season. He will have to come from the fair outside post position with the eight-hole being on the gate. He will be in good hands with Brandon Campbell in the bike.

Nothing Bugs Me (Custard The Dragon) was not bothered by his post position last time as he won from post seven. He will move one spot to his left this week and wear the yellow saddle cloth with the big six on it. Nothing Bugs Me won in 1:56.4 last week and had a solid handle on the race as he won by about five lengths. Rod Therres will be in the bike come post time.

I will round out my top three with Key Dragon (Custard The Dragon). He finished second behind Nothing Bugs Me last time out and enjoyed a comfy pocket trip. This time, he draws inside a few horses that want to get to the front end early so he can decide how he wants to set up the race. He has yet to win but has finished either second or third in all three of his career starts.

My Picks: 8-6-3

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

For complete race entries, click here.

by Trey Colbeck, for Harnesslink