>

GRR Preferreds To Equity, Blissfull Breeze

JTwo-year-olds dominated the early portion of Monday’s 12-race card of racing at Grand River Raceway, but the spotlight shone brightly on Preferred horses in the latter stages of the program.

Two-year-olds dominated the early portion of Monday’s 12-race card of racing at Grand River Raceway, but the spotlight shone brightly on Preferred horses in the latter stages of the program.

Equity took on eight foes in the $10,000 Preferred #2 for the father/son team of owner/trainer Charalambos Christoforou and driver Chris Christoforou, and the homebred gelding had no problem disposing of the competition in the nine-horse affair.

The younger Christoforou was fourth and parked past the quarter pole, but he quickly took the lead with Equity en route to leading the field to the half in :57.4 and then the three-quarter pole in 1:28.1 before using a :29.3 closing panel to stop the teletimer in 1:57.4. Three lengths in arrears was runner-up Lexis D J, with Indiana Hall tagging along before fading to finish third.

Sent off as the 1-5 favourite, Equity won for the second time this season and for the 17th time in his career for the elder Christoforou and Banjo Farms of Toronto, ON. The OSS graduate has stashed away more than $587,000 in earnings to date.

Blissfull Breeze had no problem doubling up in the Preferred #2 Pace for the team of driver Scott Coulter and trainer Dean Nixon. The eight-year-old son of Blissfull Hall-Melbourne Breeze got away seventh and stayed there to the mid-way point before starting a rally. He was eighth and last at the three-quarter pole before using a :27.4 final quarter to propel himself to the win by 1-3/4 lengths over Part Shark in 1:53.3. Acceptable Risk tagged along to finish third.

Leo Racicot of Harrow, ON holds the ownership papers on the productive gelding, who now owns a 7-5-2 record from 22 starts this season. The 44-time winner is closing in on $55,000 in earnings this season, and to date his bankroll stands at $266,714.