Three-year-old pacing colts Sonic Spark and Ghost Pine shared the spotlight on Sunday afternoon at Alberta Downs, winning their respective $20,000 Adios Pick divisions by a combined 10 lengths.
Sonic Spark kicked off the Sunday stakes action with a 1:55.3 off-the-pace victory for trainer Harold Haining and owner Donald Richardson of Cochrane, Alta.
The Big Heist (Rene Goulet) and favourite Comes Home First (Jim Marino) traded turns on the lead early on while second choice Sonic Spark advanced first over from sixth through fractions of :28.2, :59.2 and 1:27.1 under the guidance of Travis Cullen. The As Promised-Sparks Full Deck colt took over command at the third quarter mark and then kicked away by four lengths with a :28.2 final frame. The Big Heist edged out Cigar Party (Keith Clark) and Blue Eyed Cowboy (Bill Tainsh Jr.) for second.
Sonic Spark has earned back-to-back wins and now sports a career record reading 3-4-6 in 18 starts with earnings climbing to $34,032.
Favourite Ghost Pine captured the fastest division of the day in a career-best 1:54.1 for trainer/driver Kelly Hoerdt and partner Blair Corbeil of Beaumont, Alta.
After getting away third, Ghost Pine swept to command past the :29.1 opening quarter mark and carved out the middle splits of :57.3 and 1:25 before widening his leading margin to more than six lengths in the stretch for his first win of the season. Big Otts Party (Gerry Hudon) finished second while Gotta Dream Big (Keith Clark) won a photo for show over Outlaw Last Chance (Brandon Campbell).
The Badlands Hanover-Just Sassy colt now has a half-dozen wins in a dozen starts with two seconds and two thirds. The lion's share of the purse pushed his bankroll to $35,741.