State Treasurer closed out the harness racing meet at Western Fair with a 1:51.4 triumph in the track's signature race with Chris Christoforou working out the winning trip for trainer Dr. Ian Moore and owners Sally MacDonald of Souris, P.E.I. and Paul MacDonald of Regina, Sask.
State Treasurer came from last at the half and edged out Apprentice Hanover (Jody Jamieson) and pacesetter Foiled Again (Yannick Gingras) in a three-across finish. He paid $4.90 to win as the 7-5 favourite.
Firing off the gate from the outside post seven, Foiled Again cleared to command over Dancin Yankee (Brett Miller) at the opening quarter in :26.1 while insider State Treasurer made a bobble at the start and dropped to the back of the pack.
A back-to-back winner of the Molson Pace in 2011 and 2012, Foiled Again was looking to become just the second horse to triple in the event and continued to lead the way past the half in :54.4 with Bandolito (Mark MacDonald) advancing first over and Apprentice Hanover (Jody Jamieson) following his cover. Levy Series champion P H Supercam (Jason Bartlett) was spotted third over.
With Bandolito looming first over, Foiled Again pressed on and reached the third quarter mark in 1:23. Meanwhile, Apprentice Hanover rolled three-wide while State Treasurer swept up from the backfield.
The iron-tough Foiled Again put up a valiant fight down the stretch, but was defeated as Apprentice Hanover edged by and a quick-closing State Treasurer reached up in the final strides to steal the glory.
After the race, State Treasurer survived a judges' inquiry into his early miscue and was declared the official winner.
"It feels real good for sure," said Dr. Moore of earning back-to-back Molson Pace victories with State Treasurer. "I sweated a little bit last year too, but this is a little different this year. I'm just glad there was no big problem leaving. He was right on the bit, I'm sure Chris will tell you all about that. He's a real good little horse and he tries his heart out. That's what I said to Trot Radio yesterday in an interview and he showed that tonight for sure."
State Treasurer's bobble at the start also had Christoforou sweating early on, but the reinsman said he was able to work with his mount's quirks to engineer the winning trip.
"There was a tremendous amount of worry around this smaller track," said Christoforou. "It's hard to get around them all again, but I was sitting behind the right horse. I had the best horse in the race and I think he proved that tonight.
"I was hoping to get back down on Jody's back after I went three-wide and that worked out good," he continued. "I got him so he wasn't three-wide all the way around the turn. I know my horse drifts out a little bit in the stretch, which helped because I don't have to steer him much to get around one down the lane. I just started driving him before I even got him to the outside and he just kind of swooped his way by and he got his little head up in front and I'm real proud of him."
The victory was State Treasurer's fourth in a row and followed up a 1:48.3 lifetime-best effort in a Preferred Pace at Mohawk Racetrack last week. The five-year-old son of Real Desire and Ideal Treasure now boasts 17 career wins and a bankroll totalling $614,991.
Molson Pace Night was full of excitement for patrons with promotions galore. Earlier in the night, one lucky fan won the chance to sit behind former champion Foiled Again in a special two-seat jog cart for an early warm-up.
"My knees are still shaking," said Lynn Gilles after jogging the $6 million pacer that she has previously watched win the Molson Pace. “He was a teddy bear, gentle. It was a wonderful experience.”
The first Gold leg of the 2014 Ontario Sires Stakes for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings was also contested on the Molson Pace Night undercard with upset winners dominating the action.
Tyrone Haji ($12.60) wore down pacesetter Starsaboveallerage to win the $52,500 opening division for the Hall of Fame team of driver Steven Condren and trainer Bob McIntosh.
With the inside post advantage, Starsaboveallerage (Chris Christoforou) led the field through fractions of :29.1, :59.4 and 1:29.2. Favourite Deweykeepumnwhy (Jody Jamieson) broke stride from the backfield approaching the half-mile mark while Scary Magic (Paul MacDonell) advanced first over before facing the same fate into the backstretch. Condren made his move from third with Tyrone Haji as they neared the three-quarters mark and prevailed in a career-best 1:59.2 clocking by a neck over Starsaboveallerage with pocket-sitter Dontcheatonmenow (Jack Moiseyev) finishing just a half-length behind in third.
Tyrone Haji earned one win and four seconds in six starts last year while competing exclusively in the