Wild Doc Holliday off the schneid

Wild Doc Holliday (Betterthancheddar) broke his maiden in the final Prospect Series preliminary harness racing leg for freshman trotting males on Wednesday (Sep. 13) at Grand River Raceway following three place finishes in the program.

The colt started with an assertive move to the front in a :29.1 opening quarter. He took an easy second panel to the half in :59.3, and Austin Sorrie turned him loose to three-quarters in 1:28.4. Up by four lengths turning for home, Wild Doc Holliday cruised to victory in 1:58.3. Hope N Pray (Tyler Moore) finished second after a first-over trip. Bettors Rush (Travis Henry) was third.

WILD DOC HOLLIDAY REPLAY

Wild Doc Holliday was winless in seven starts to begin his career and endured a four-race stretch of place finishes. The Gregg McNair-trained colt has now earned $12,325 for owner/breeder William Brown of Hanover.

In the first division, Ballykeel Painter (Dali) notched a third win in four starts with a 1:58 mile. Darryl Thiessen gave him the green light from third in the second quarter, and the colt made front before the half. Ballykeel Painter extended his cushion on the backstretch and had enough left in the sprint for home to hold off Country Mouse (James MacDonald) by a half-length. Letjimitakeover (Scott Coulter) made a back-half rally to go from seventh to third.

BALLYKEEL PAINTER REPLAY

Ballykeel Painter has won three of her five lifetime starts. All her races have come in the Prospect Series. Her efforts have netted owner/breeder Ballykeel Racing of Tillsonburg $15,150. Terry McKibbin trains the colt.

The Prospect Series Final is up next for the two-year-old trotting colts and geldings. The qualified horses will visit Grand River again on Sep. 22 for the final battle.

Grand River Raceway’s next card is set for Friday, Sep. 15, beginning at 6:30 p.m. EDT.

For complete race results, click here.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink