Scratchin An Itch, Delta Sunrise Capture London Features; HUGE Payouts This Week
Scratchin An Itch upset with a strong stretch rush, and Delta Sunrise went coast-to-coast as they won their respective $9,700 feature paces on Tuesday, March 3 at The Raceway at the Western Fair District.
Scratchin An Itch with trainer Scott McNiven on warm-up at The Raceway.
Scratchin An Itch started last as the longest shot on the board at 24-1 in the conditioned co-headliner for horses and geldings. Lorne House had the four-year-old son of Sunfire Blue Chip-Straightoutabuxton sixth of six through the early fractions of :29.1 and :59.4 set by Dont Poke The Bear (Samuel Fillion). Scratchin An Itch shifted out third-over as the group turned towards the backstretch and followed cover to three-quarters in 1:29.2 as Dont Poke The Bear duelled up front with Arundel Hanover (Nick Steward). The eventual winner tipped three-high as they rounded the final turn, and he rocketed past his rivals on the outside in the stretch to prevail by two lengths in 1:59. Laser (Brady Galliers) rolled up the cones for second, and the battle between Dont Poke The Bear and Arundel Hanover ended in stalemate as they dead-heated for third.
Trainer-driver Dave Kelly used opposite tactics with Delta Sunrise in the optional-claiming co-feature for fillies and mares. The three outside horses in the seven-horse field charged abreast into the first turn, and Delta Sunrise leveraged her inside positioning among that group to take control in a :28.1 first panel. Voom Voom (J Harris) raced first-up through the half in :57.4, stalling the outer flow as they came onto the backstretch, allowing Delta Sunrise to maintain a 1-3/4-length cushion to three-quarters in 1:27.1. Pocket-sitter Yoda Queen (Andy Moore) chased the leader around the last turn, and a host of horses got in gear late, but Delta Sunrise held a one-length margin to the wire for a 1:57.3 victory. Yoda Queen finished second over Ladyterra (Garrett Rooney).
The well-travelled Dave Kelly was winning his first race in London - the eleventh track this Maritimer has won at - during his travels from coast to coast.
Ladies From Hell ($2.70), The Raceway’s 2025 Horse of the Year, scored her first victory of the year in an $8,200 optional-claiming pace. Driven by Garrett Rooney for trainer Mike Sumner, the 12-year-old mare won by a half-length in 1:58.2 to improve to one-for-five on the season. Mike Sumner co-owns her with daughter Shae Sumner.
The connections of Ladies From Hell gathered for a photo after the mare was named Horse of the Year for The Raceway’s 2025 season at the Annual Awards Banquet.
Full Standardbred Canada Recap - Scratchin An Itch, Delta Sunrise Capture London Features | Standardbred Canada
HUGE Payouts This Week
The Raceway’s GO-TO WAGERS have always been the PICK 5, PICK 4 and SUPER HI5 plays - where all are non-jackpot wagers and they would produce some massive payouts on the Monday and Tuesday evening programs. The big prices certainly got the attention of horseplayers, this week, as the handle has been very strong with $395K (MON), $603K (TUE) and $467K (WED) wagered on those 10-dash programs.
The Raceway’s GO-TO WAGERS have always been the PICK 5, PICK 4 and SUPER HI5 plays…