Dundas, ON — Ryan Clements made his first visit to the winner’s circle and Anthony Verruso clenched the win in their respective C$8,000 divisions of the CKG Billings Pace over a track rated sloppy at Flamboro Downs on Sunday (Oct. 13).
Clements fired down the road with 3-5 favorite Choreographer to land his first driving win, stopping the clock in 1:58.4 in the first division.
Choreographer grabbed the helm from post three and refused to relinquish control when confronted by Time Stand Still (Marc Andre Pilon) through a :28.2 first quarter. Time Stand Still raced parked through the second turn as Clements cruised on the point to a :58.1 half and continued unfettered heading for the backside. Choreographer clocked by three-quarters in 1:28.1 and held firm through the stretch to notch a 1-1/4 length win over pocket-sitter Macho Polo (Julie Walker). ABC (Robert Ciavardini) mounted a mild first-over bid in the back half to take third.
Scott West owns and trains Choreographer, a 9-year-old gelding by Well Said. He paid $3.30 to win.
Anthony Verruso delivered 2-1 chalk Cove Beach in a down-the-road 2:02.2 effort in the second Billings division.
Verruso took command out of post two and kept his peers chasing to the end. Cove Beach carved a clip of :29, 1:00.3 and 1:31.2 with little pressure mounting from the backfield coming for the stretch. Cove Beach collected a facile win by 1-3/4 lengths over pocket-sitter Keepitinperspctive (Daniel St Pierre) in second. Rambaran Rose (Nello Guglielmi) rode the pylons to finish third.
Chris Hill owns and trains Cove Beach, a 5-year-old mare by Lyonssomewhere. She paid $6.20 to win.
Billings action continues on Monday (Oct. 14) at Woodbine Mohawk Park with a C$14,000 pacing event carded as the third race on the 10-race card. First-race post time at Mohawk is 7:10 p.m. (EDT).