Flamboro: Charles Juravinski Memorial Cup final taken by Fourever Boy

Fourever Boy bounced back in a big way following an uncharacteristically dull fifth-place finish in his elimination last week and won the C$262,000 Charles Juravinski Memorial Cup final for 4-year-old male pacers on Sunday night at Flamboro Downs in 1:51 3/5.

The complexion of the race changed before it ever started as morning line favorite and elimination winner Bythemissal was scratched sick, which allowed also-eligible Ron to draw into the field from post three.

That said, the show went on without Bythemissal, and with regular pilot Dexter Dunn at Pocono for Pennsylvania Sire Stakes races, Trevor Henry picked up the drive behind Fourever Boy from post one. Henry wound up working out a pocket trip for Fourever Boy behind Camara Moment (Doug McNair), who cannoned to the lead from the outside post eight and then parked out first Frozen Hanover (Louis-Philippe Roy) and then race favorite Birthday (Yannick Gingras) through panels of 27 2/5, 54 4/5, and 1:23 2/5.

Camara Moment had rebuffed Birthday for good turning for home and brought the field into the stretch, but Fourever Boy had all the space he needed when the passing lane became an option. He shot by Camara Moment and then drew clear, winning the event by a length and a quarter. Camara Moment and a traffic-troubled Layton Hanover (Jody Jamieson) dead-heated for second, and Pleaseletmeknow (James MacDonald) got fourth.

"Going into the last turn I had thoughts of getting out, but Doug's horse was pacing the turns better, so I figured he'll carry me to the head of the stretch, and he did," said Henry. "Then when we came into the stretch, Doug's horse kind of drifted out a bit. I got the up the inside nice and easy, and it just worked out great."

Tim Twaddle trains and co-owns Fourever Boy, a son of Sweet Lou, with partner Micki Rae Stables LLC. Fourever Boy has a record of 6-5-7 from 39 career starts, has now earned C$910,961, and paid $11.00 to win as the 9-2 second choice.

"I expected him to be way better. Deep down I obviously was dreaming about winning the race, but second-guessing myself after last week," remarked Twaddle. "I spoke to Dexter a couple times through the week, and we made a few changes. I did a small shoeing change, we did a little vet work, and he was just much sharper coming into the race.

"He's a good horse for us. We had so much fun last year. He got better as he went along, and he really matured now coming into this season. I'm really excited about what lies ahead."

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In the companion C$50,000 Margaret Juravinski Memorial Invitational for 4-year-old pacing mares, 1-5 favorite Silver Label (MacDonald) led through panels of 27, 55 4/5, and 1:23 4/5 on her way to a 1:52 3/5 win. She defeated pocket-sitter Need To Breathe (Travis Cullen) by half a length, with Raptors Won (Sylvain Filion) closing from fifth to third in the final quarter.

Silver Label is a Bettor's Delight mare trained by Nick Gallucci for owner/breeder Millar Farms. She is now a 15-time winner from 27 lifetime tries, she pushed her bankroll to C$912,989, and she returned $2.40 to win.