Words Escape Me leaves bettors speechless

Words Escape Me delivered a 30-1 upset on debut in the second division of the first Ontario Sires Stakes Prospect Series harness racing leg for two-year-old pacing males on Friday at Grand River Raceway.

He tucked in fourth for driver Travis Henry after a rough-gaited entry to the first turn. Henry exercised patience as Signing Bonus (Brett Macdonald) set :29.2 and 1:00.1 fractions from the lead. Henry slid the gelding out on the final trip down the backstretch, and Words Escape Me gained ground rapidly after passing three-quarters in 1:30.2.

A length and a half deficit remained as they turned into the stretch. Signing Bonus battled but did not have the energy remaining to resist a charging Words Escape Me, who got by late and won by a neck in 2:00.4.

Signing Bonus finished second. He was two lengths clear of Beach Boots (Tyler Moore) who was awarded show after a photo finish review. The win price was $68.60.

WORDS ESCAPE ME REPLAY

Part-owner Scott McNiven, a Putnam citizen, trains the freshman Artspeak gelding for co-owners Thomas Brodhurst of London, Donald Douglas of Ingersoll, and Shirley Griffin of St. Thomas. They purchased the horse for $7,000 from the 2020 Ontario Select sale.

Two Drinks Ago dominated the first division for rookie male pacers and became sire Your Nemesis’ first winning foal in two years with a wire-to-wire victory.

Two Drinks Ago flew off the wings and went wide into the first turn to take the lead. Tyler Moore rated the colt to :29.2, 1:00.4, and 1:30.4 fractions while maintaining a two-length gap to his five rivals. First-over Delicate Sound (Paul Mackenzie) and pocket-sitter Booked Solid (Bruce Richardson) worked themselves into touching distance entering the final turn, but the former briefly broke stride and the leader outsprinted the latter en route to a 2:00.2 win.

Booked Solid held second over a recovering Delicate Sound. The winner paid $9.10.

TWO DRINKS AGO REPLAY

Two Drinks Ago’s win gave trainer Heather Pickett her first of the season in 22 starts. Pickett, who lives in Goderich, co-owns with Christopher Jewitt of De Pere. The horse is the 17th starter by Your Nemesis, a 24-year-old stallion standing in Ontario.

The stud won the Battle of Waterloo as a freshman and competed in the Ontario Sires stakes at two and three. He was solid in top conditioned races on the Woodbine Entertainment circuit in his four-year-old year before touring the northeastern United States in mid-level overnights at four and five. The son of Gypsys Hellion won 20 total races and earned $427,418 lifetime. His top progeny, Your Beautiful, followed a similar career path – she won the Battle of the Belles, raced in the Ontario Sires Stakes, and later moved on to overnight events.

Grand River Raceway will hold its next card on Monday, Jul. 12. A Preferred 2 and a Preferred 3 highlight action that begins at 6:30 p.m. EDT.

For full race results, click here.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink