With Stuart Sowerby at the controls, Dancehall Mistress made a bold move in the backstretch en route to capturing the $11,000 Preferred 2 Trot at Grand River Raceway. The five-year-old daughter of Angus Hall-Benns Riverdance sat seventh while Incredable Frank chopped out of :28.4, :59.1 and 1:28.1. Dancehall Mistress commenced a three-wide rally before travelling into the final quarter of the contest, and he :29.1 closing speed was good enough to earn her the win by 3-1/2 lengths over Incredable Frank in 1:58.1. Spartan Victory claimed the show dough in the eight-horse affair.
Sent off at odds of 4-1, Dancehall Mistress won for the tenth time in her career for owner Doug Millard, Glenn Tarver and David Goodrow Stable. The lion’s share of the purse bumped her earnings to $241,720.
The $10,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred 2 for pacers went to Royal Cover Up, who erupted for a 12-1 upset for the tandem of driver Alfie Carroll and trainer Brian Hodgson. The six-year-old daughter of Royal Mattjesty-Legalistic fired to the front and hustled the field through fractions of :27.3, :56.4 and 1:26 before cruising to a one-length score in 1:56 over Twilight Seelster. Eat Me Up rallied from far back to finish third.
Donald Hodgson of Dorchester, Ontario owns the 10-time winner, who improved this year’s record to 2-3-2 from the 13 trips to the track. The 1:56 clocking was a career-best performance for the winner of $84,124.