Stakes preview for Fraser Downs Friday

A pair of $25,000 harness racing stakes are set to go off Friday night (April 14) at Fraser Downs.

The 3- & 4-year-old fillies and mare N/W B.C. bred final, along with the 3- & 4-year-old colts and geldings N/W B.C. bred final, will be the last two races of the evening’s card.

Both stake races are open to three-year-old British Columbia-bred horses that were non-winners of $30,000 lifetime as of December 31st, 2022. In addition, British Columbia-bred four-year-olds that are non-winners of $20,000 lifetime as of December 31st, 2022, are also eligible.

Fraser Downs N/W Stakes Preview

Race 8: (3&4 Fillies & Mares N/W Final  

There was no need for eliminations last week because there weren’t enough fillies and mares to constitute the need. So we head straight to the finals, and a few pacers jump off the program page.

Grey Sea (Custard The Dragon) is the morning line favourite at 8-5 odds. In five starts this year, she has yet to finish worse than second place. She has two wins and three second-place finishes. Grey Sea’s fastest winning mile was pace in 1:58.4, but her lifetime mark is a whole second faster at 1:57.4. The four-year-old mare draws post position three and will have John Abbott in the bike.

Drawing the far outside post position might make things challenging for Center Piece (Betterthancheddar), who comes into the race second favourite with 4-1 morning line odds. She has yet to win a race in 2023 but comes into this race as the highest lifetime earner. She landed inside the eligibility line with $29,600 in earnings before the deadline. Unfortunately, she has only been able to add another $3,445 in four starts this year but teams up with Brandon Campbell. Center Piece has the lifetime mark of 2:01.1, but she must be much better than that to win Friday night.

Play Misty For Me (Vertical Horizon) is the second-highest lifetime earner heading into this race. The four-year-old mare has earned $25,625 in 22-lifetime starts. She has yet to win in 2023 but has finished in the top three five times in seven starts. Play Misty For Me’s lifetime mark of 1:59.2 is closer to the rest of the field but will still have to work if she wants her picture taken after this race.

Race 9 (3&4 Colt & Geldings N/W Final  

The colts and gelding category had two eliminations last week with fields of six pacers in each. So now we are left with the top nine out of that bunch with a possible A.E. waiting in the wings.

The first division elimination winner, Shake Shadow N Rol (Shadow Play), had the faster mile time and came into the final at the 2-1 morning line odds favourite. His elimination time of 1:54.4 was only one-fifth of a second slower than his lifetime mark. The four-year-old gelding has five wins in ten starts in 2023 and has already made $22,790. Shake Shadow N Rol had only made $15,900 before December 31st, 2022, making him eligible for the event, but he has over doubled his lifetime earnings total.

The second division elimination winner, Domi (Living It Up), comes in with 3-1 morning line odds. He paced his elimination in 1:56.3 but had the fastest final quarter-mile time of 28.2. Domi has had an excellent start to the new year by having four wins in six starts. He finished top-three in all six starts in 2023 and doubled his lifetime earnings total in just these past four months.

The fastest elimination runner-up was Came A Cavalier (Domitian Hanover), who paced the mile 1:55.0 and finished just behind Shake Shadow N Rol. Came A Cavalier has made nine starts in 2023 and has visited the winner’s circle four times. He earned a new lifetime mark this year of 1:55.1 which completely obliterated his old one of 1:58.2. Kelly Hoerdt drives and trains the four-year-old gelding, and they come into the final at 4-1 odds and could have potential value at post time.

The first of nine dashes at Fraser Downs starts at 7:00 p.m. local Pacific time, Friday evening.

For the complete Friday race entries, click here.

by Trey Colbeck, for Harnesslink