Power And Grace ($19.50) made every call a winning one and lived up to her name in Wednesday's (July 8) featured $11,500 Preferred 2-3 Handicap Trot at Grand River Raceway.
Power And Grace and driver Brett MacDonald got a quick jump on their eight rivals after leaving from post 4, sprinting clear of Whiskey Tax (Scott Young) to control a :28.3 first quarter and subsequently pull the tempo back through a :59.3 half, at which point her only other challenger — 2-1 favourite Sicario (Alfie Carroll) — emerged.
After angling first-over from fourth approaching race's midpoint, Sicario advanced steadily on the clubhouse turn to apply mild pressure up the backstretch, but Power And Grace responded in kind after being nudged to three-quarters in 1:28.4. The five-year-old Holiday Road mare dismissed of her outside challenger on approach to the far turn and then sped away from a head-stretch threat posed by Whiskey Tax to win by a widening 3-1/4 lengths in 1:57.3. Caviars Triumph (Robert Shepherd) improved late after saving ground to finish third.
The featured win was Power And Grace's third in six starts for trainer Ronald MacDonald, the fastest of her five wins to date this year, and the 19th of her career for owner Lormer McClure.
In the sub-featured $8,500 Preferred 3 Pace for distaffers, War Filly ($13.00) dismissed of a backstretch challenge from Anderson Seelster en route to a 1:56.1 tally over So Frisky. Phil Hudon drove the eight-year-old Mach Three mare, now a 26-time winner, for Bradley and John Powell.
To view Wednesday's complete results, click the following link: Wednesday Results - Grand River Raceway.