Catch An Ace snags Preferred victory

Catch An Ace avenged her heartbreaking Aug. 4 loss with a wire-to-wire harness racing score in the Fillies and Mares Preferred 3 Pace on Wednesday at Grand River Raceway.

Driver Travis Cullen worked hard aboard Catch An Ace to ensure the Bettors Delight mare made the front from post five, and she did in a :27 first quarter mile. After taking a breather with a :56.3 half, Cullen urged the mare away from her seven opponents and attempted to gain an insurmountable lead.

Catch An Ace attained a four-length advantage as she finished the third panel in 1:24.2 and took another two lengths on the turn for home. Sporty Tori (Brett Macdonald) soared from the backfield, circling four-wide from seventh, and ripped through the leader’s advantage. The closing mare’s flight was cut short by the finish line though, and Catch An Ace held on by a length for a 1:53.3 victory.

Sporty Tori finished second. I Wish You Well (Scott Young) also gained in the last eighth of a mile but was well short of the victory in third.

CATCH AN ACE REPLAY

The finish line came in time for Catch An Ace on this occasion after I Wish You Well caught her by a nose in their Aug. 4 Preferred 3 clash. Rachel Andrew trains the six-year-old Catch An Ace for A1stable of Dundas. The mare has now won 18 times and has earned $257,004 in 92 lifetime starts. She is two-for-11 this season.

Veyron also occupied the front end as he won the co-featured Preferred 3 Trot, but his victory was much closer than Catch An Ace’s.

J. Bradley Harris hit the gas with Veyron at the start, pushing the gelding to the early lead. The field of seven settled into single file formation in the :28.1 first quarter. Tymal Houdini (Travis Henry) was the first to disrupt the flow, shifting to the two-path and chasing Veyron as the leader slowed to the half in :59.2.

Tymal Houdini stayed with Veyron through a third panel that was finished in 1:28, and the challenger continued to close after his first-over trip. Cheatalotpov (Macdonald) split through on the inside, and Tymal Houdini produced a final push on the grandstand side, but Veyron had enough energy remaining to deny them both and score in 1:58.1.

Cheatalotpov came within a neck, finishing second. Tymal Houdini was third by a half length.

VEYRON REPLAY

Veyron, an eight-year-old son of Muscles Yankee, improved his lifetime record to 19-for-106 and increased his earnings to $219,607. Paul Cameron trains him for Tjs Stable of Caledon East.

Grand River Raceway’s next race date will be Friday, Aug. 13. That evening’s 10-race program starts at 6:30 p.m. EDT.

For full race results, click here.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink