Fraser Downs Recap – November 28, 2024

Chalk prevailed in both $100,000 Murphy Memorial Stake Finals Thursday night at Fraser Downs.

One the filly side in the Mary Murphy Stake, Over Ice (Custard The Dragon) clinched the title with her third straight win. She led from the get-go and opened the race with a 28-second first quarter. She rolled on with a second panel of 30 seconds and would continue to the three-quarter mark in 1:25.4. The clock would stop at a final time of 1:54.1 and Over Ice would win easily by three lengths.

This would mark Over Ice’s fifth win of the year and 10th of her career. She has earned over $232,000 in 21 lifetime starts. She is a homegrown product of her ownership, J J J Stables. Jim Marino trains the three-year-old filly and Phil Giesbrecht was in the bike for the victory mile.

The Marino-Giesbrecht tandem would sweep the big races with Wannabeabigstar winning the Robert Murphy Memorial. The Shadow Play gelding had to work a bit harder than his filly-stable mate the race prior.  He spent most of the early part of the race caught two-wide near the back of the pack while Buddy Knocks (Scott Knight) led the race.

Buddy Knocks set fractions of 27.2, 57.2 and 1:26. Wannabeabigstar would slowly inch closer to the front but was always hung out wide. However, that wouldn’t matter as he had enough juice in the tank to charge down the stretch in the middle of the track to win in 1:55.

This is also three straight wins for Wannabeabigstar and his fourth of 2024. He has visited the winner’s circle six times during his 14-race career. He doubled his career earning total with the $50,000 winner’s cheque and now stands at $89,505. J J J Stables with Paul Sanders and trainer Jim Marino own the gelding.

Giesbrecht would pick up the driving grand slam Thursday evening and Jim Marino would earn the training hat trick.

In yesterday’s picks (which can be seen here), five out of the nine winners were correct.

Racing continues at Fraser Downs on Thursday and Friday nights for the rest of the year. The next card is Friday (Nov. 29), with another nine races. Post time is 10:00 p.m. Eastern.