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Pair-O-Preferreds At Grand River

A pair of Preferred events highlighted the Monday evening program at Grand River Raceway, and from the two tilts emerged three winners.

That’s right, three winners from two races as a result of a dead heat for the top spot in the $10,000 Preferred #2 Trot. Flashback and Lexis D J were inseparable in the nine-horse affair in a time of 1:58.

Flashback did the road work for driver Jim McClure, who pointed the four-year-old son of Classic Photo through panels of :28.2, :59.1 and 1:27.4. Lexis DJ, in the meantime, was in rally mode for driver Scott Coulter. Three lengths separated the pair of them at the head of the lane, but Lexis D J used a :29.4 final frame to hit the line at the same time as Flashback, who only had a :30.1 final quarter left in his legs at the end of the mile. The share the win by a quarter of a length over the pocket-sitting Indiana Hall.

Ben Baillargeon trains Flashback for Soc Ge Denis Robidoux Inc of Granby, QC along with Santo Vena of Brampton and Nunzio Vena of Bolton, ON. The eight-time winner is 3-for-18 this season and he’s put away more than $177,000 in his career.

Shane Arsenault trains Lexis D J, a four-year-old son of Amigo Hall, for his son, Brandon, and his father, Lou. Collectively, they watched the trotter pick up his fourth win of the season and the 14th of his career. The trotter has a career cash stash totaling $155,450.

In the very next race, Blissfull Breeze motored to a 1:53.1 tally in the $10,000 Preferred #2 Pace for the duo of driver Scott Coulter and trainer Dean Nixon. The eight-year-old son of Blissfull Hall used his off-the-pace skills to win in going-away fashion by 2-1/4 lengths over Acceptable Risk, with pacesetter Spago Hall fading late and settling for the third prize.

Leo Racicot of Harrow, ON owns the gelding, who now owns a 6-5-2 record from 21 trips to the track this season. The 43-time winner has stashed away more than $260,000 to date.