Fall Bliss held off stablemate City Of The Year to win the $2,500 Walter Dale Memorial Invitational Pace as Fredericton Raceway hosted its Canada Day card of harness racing on Friday (July 1).

 

After leading the shortened field of four through panels of :29, :58 and 1:27.1, Fall Bliss held off City Of The Year by half a length in 1:56.4. The top two finishers are both trained by Dr. Mitchell Downey, also the winning driver, and owned by Michael Downey. Threes A Crowd followed in third and Skippy finished a distant fourth while Miss Oromocto was scratched.

 

Fall Bliss has earned back-to-back victories in New Brunswick and is now five-for-eight on the year. The eight-year-old son of Blissfull Hall is a 27-time career winner with a bankroll of more than $185,000.

 

Following three straight runner-up efforts, Coral Snake romped to a 1:58.2 eight-length victory in Friday aftenoon's $1,100 Preferred for Luke and Richard Armstrong.