by Greg Blanchard, WEG media

Toronto, ON — A pair of familiar faces, Ramegade Bruiser and Dali, were victorious in their respective divisions of the second leg of the Spring Pacing Championship for older pacers on a windy Saturday night (April 3) at Woodbine Racetrack.

Ramegade Bruiser turned in a determined effort to capture the opening C$50,000 split for driver Roger Mayotte in 1:54.3.

New Image Media photo

Ramegade Bruiser and driver Roger Mayotte nipped Annieswesterncard by a neck.

The 7-year-old Rambaran gelding was parked through a vicious headwind in an opening quarter of just :29.1 and then finally cleared to command just before the opening half in :58.1. He faced immediate pressure from Annieswesterncard who made a sharp brush to the lead and opened up his advantage past the third marker in 1:24.2.

Annieswesterncard took a four length lead into the stretch and appeared to be home free but a resurgent Ramegade Bruiser had other ideas. He methodically reeled in Annieswesterncard over the final eighth and ended up getting the better of that rival by a neck. It was another two lengths back to Blended Whisky who finished third.

“It was a tough trip in the wind, even a horse like this was struggling with it,” said winning driver Roger Mayotte. “We were brushing pretty good up the backside and I just wanted to stay with Jack (Moiseyev-driving Annieswesterncard) and not let him get away on me. My horse is tough and I thought if I could stay close enough, he’d come back and get that other horse in the wind.”

Ramegade Bruiser delivered as the $3.50 favorite in notching his 45th career win for owner-trainer Dave Brown. He is well past the C$1 million mark in career earnings.

The gail force winds had subsided somewhat by the time the second division went postward in race 10 and it was Dali posting a dominant win for driver Luc Ouellette in a blistering clocking of 1:50.3. The 5-year-old son of Real Artist blasted from third to first in the second quarter and then cruised to the easy victory over Sixdaysontheroad and Keystone Horatio. Dali returned $8.50 as the second choice in the wagering.

“He (Dali) raced good last week but hadn’t raced in a while and the trip didn’t work out well,” said winning trainer Rene Allard. “This week in a short field, we expected he would be better and he was.

“He had a little quarter crack on his heel that we’ve been working on and he was good and sound tonight. He has lots of big races coming up this summer so we just want to try and keep him as healthy as we can.”

The win was the third in seven tries this season for Dali who is also part of racing’s millionaire club. His seasonal earnings sit at just over C$90,000 for the Uncirculated Stable of Ontario and the Internet Stable LLC of New Jersey.

The C$90,000 Spring Pacing Championship final will go postward next Saturday night (April 10) from Woodbine.