Brothers drive sisters to 1-2 finish

Sibling rivalry came down to the wire on Friday (Sep. 1) at Kawartha Downs as the Hie brothers drove harness racing half-sisters to a tight 1-2 finish.

The brothers, Doug and Carman, with 151 years of age between them, trained and drove Wildcat Lisa (Betterthancheddar) and Pop The Bubbly, respectively.

Carman gave Pop The Bubbly the pocket and Doug dropped Wildcat Lisa into third behind him. Leader Just Shocking (Samuel Fillion) shook loose in the third panel and streaked away to a seven-length lead. The chasing pair began to cut down the cushion as they headed for the far turn, and the leader hit the wall entering the stretch.

Pop The Bubbly and Wildcat Lisa both shifted out for the drive, and they swarmed the pacesetter in mid-stretch. The sisters dueled flat out coming to the line, and Wildcat Lisa eclipsed Pop The Bubbly in the final strides for the victory in 1:59. Just Shocking held third.

Carolyn Jarrell of Roslin bred and owns both Wildcat Lisa and Pop The Bubbly, who are out of her mare Armbro Champagne. She shares ownership with Doug Hie on Wildcat Lisa, who tallied her second career win in back-to-back fashion on Friday.

The Kawartha card also featured three Prospect Series divisions. Two groups of three-year-old pacing fillies battled in their 4B leg, followed by one dash for sophomore pacing colts.

Brynley Seelster (Big Jim) erased the goose egg from her season’s record with a tough first-over victory in the first pacing filly split. Jason Ryan guided the filly to a 1:55.2 win from post seven for trainer Courtney Bishop. Bishop owns Brynley Seelster, who is now two-for-18 lifetime and has earned $55,177.

Badditude (Artspeak, Reg Gassien) fended off the gritty Powder Play (Anthony Haughan) to take the second division by a head in 1:54.4. It was her fifth win of the season but her first try in the Prospect Series. The Brett Lester-trained filly has now won seven times and earned $37,721 from 31 career outings. Michel Letarte of Boucherville and Louis-Philippe Roy of Campbellville own her.

It Takes Two (Artspeak, Lorne House) saw through a long outside trek and had late pace to finish the mile, scoring by a length-and-a-half in 1:54.3. Scott McNiven trains the gelding who is six-for-26 this season with two tallies in the Prospect Series. Kimberly McNiven of Putnam and Donald Douglas of Ingersoll co-own their homebred sophomore.

The fillies will finish their regular season with leg 5 on Sep. 15 at Grand River Raceway. The pacing colts and geldings will contest their last leg on Sep. 16 at Hiawtha Horse Park.

John Macmillan took over the mic at Kawartha Downs on the night. The regular Rideau Carleton Raceway racecaller recently had surgery to remove a tumour in his brain. Local horsepeople gathered on the track between races two and three to show their support and appreciation for the longtime horseman.

Kawartha Downs will host its third-to-last card of the season on Saturday, Sep. 9.

For complete race results, click here.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink