State Treasurer closed out the meet at The Raceway at the Western Fair District on Friday, May 29 earning his third straight Molson Pace title and becoming harness racing's newest millionaire.
State Treasurer defeated 3-5 favourite All Bets Off in the $150,000 invitational at the wire in a stakes record clocking of 1:51 flat. The former stakes record of 1:51.1 was set by Eagle Luck in 2008 and equalled by State Treasurer in his first Molson Pace victory in 2013.
There was a three-across battled into the first turn with Confederation Cup champion and 3-5 favourite All Bets Off (Matt Kakaley) emerging with the early lead from the inside. He reached the first quarter in :26.2 while Evenin Of Pleasure (Sylvain Filion) settled into the two-hole ahead of the trailing tier starter and defending champion, State Treasurer.
Canada's reigning Driver of the Year, Chris Christoforou, made his move committing first over with State Treasurer coming off the turn in front of the grandstand with early challenger Lucan Hanover (Trevor Henry) picking up the cover while All Bets Off continued to lead to the half in :55.3.
State Treasurer advanced up alongside All Bets Off down the backstretch and those two battled head-to-head past three-quarters in 1:23.1 and into the stretch.
State Treasurer refused to let up and eventually collared All Bets Off in the final strides for the half-length victory while Evenin Of Pleasure came through along the pylons for third. P H Supercam (Jason Bartlett) finished less than a length behind in fourth while Lets Drink On It (Billy Davis Jr.) came from last to finish fifth. Night Pro (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.), Lucan Hanover and Duc Dorleans (Dan Dube) completed the order of finish.
Dr. Ian Moore trains the six-year-old son of Real Desire for owners Sally Macdonald of Souris, P.E.I and Paul MacDonald of Toronto, Ont.
The only other horse to win three consecutive editions of Western Fair's signature race was Jambo Dancer, who completed the feat back in the 1970s.
"It's fantastic. I was lucky enough to sit behind State Treasurer for two of those and he just proved how great a horse he is tonight," said Christoforou after the race. "He's just a special kind of horse. The trip he went...unbelievable...first up like that and to go to war with that other horse and beat him, it was spectacular.
"My biggest was concern was I didn't want to get pinned in with him because he can be a real handful at times. Actually at the Meadowlands, he was almost in an accident. He tried to run over horses that were in front of him. If he gets boxed in, he doesn't like it so I just wanted to make sure I had some clearance at some point around that first turn and it worked out good. After that, I just let him do the rest."
State Treasurer now boasts 23 career wins in 75 starts and a bankroll totalling $1,057,420. He currently has two (consecutive) wins in four 2015 starts following a $480,000 campaign last season in which he was named an O'Brien Award finalist in the aged pacing division.
State Treasurer paid $9.00 to win.
The Molson Pace undercard included the first leg of the Ontario Sires Stakes for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings, which was split into three $70,000 divisions.
North America Cup contender Go Daddy Go ($2.90) opened his sophomore season with a stellar 1:53.1 triumph in the first division for the Hall of Fame duo of John Campbell and Bob McIntosh.
Go Daddy Go, the 2-5 favourite, swept around the quick-leaving outsider Robert Hill by the :27.4 first quarter and proceeded to the half in :57.2 and three-quarters in 1:25.4. Meanwhile, 9-5 second choice Sportsmanship caught up with the top pair after gapping early in third and charged after the leader as they neared three-quarters in 1:25.4, but he broke stride leaving Go Daddy Go to cruise home uncontested for the seven-length victory. Moonwriter came on for second and Dialamara finished third.
"I was able to get back to the front going to the quarter and an uncontested second quarter," said Campbell in a post-race interview. "He was full of himself from there on and he finished up very well."
Go Daddy Go clocked his final quarter in :27.2 and was two-fifths of a second off the 1:52.4 track record for three-year-old male pacers that was set by Stonebridge Tonic in 2010. Campbell noted that McIntosh always has his horses ready to go.
"Oh, he has them ready. We've been together a long time, he doesn't send them out if they're not ready," said Campbell. "There were only two horses on the gate so it was a pretty easy decision to leave."
The chestnut son of Ponder was last year's Battle Of Waterloo champion and earned nearly $400,000 in his freshman campaign. An O'Brien Award finalist, Go Daddy Go also scored victories in his Metro Pace and Breeders Crown eliminations and was a runner-up to divisional champion Artspeak in the Governor's Cup. The homebred colt is owned by Robert McIntosh Stables Inc. of Windsor, Ont., Dave Boyle of Bowmanville, Ont. and new partner Diamond Creek Racing of Wellsville, Pennsylvania.
Go Daddy Go has been assessed at odds of 14-1 as a top-five contender for the 2015 Pepsi North America Cup in Trot Magazine's Spring Book.
Windsong Leo ($4.70) extended his win streak to seven in a row as he tackled stakes competition for the first time in his career in the next division.
Stablemates Mikes Powerhouse and Bob Ben And John traded turns on the lead in the early going, but outsider Windsong Leo forged to the front at the :28 first qua