Georgian Downs: Fashion Frenzie first in Earl Rowe Memorial Invitational

Fashion Frenzie tuned up for Saturday night's Maple Leaf Trot final with a 1:52 3/5 Canadian record win in the C$100,000 Earl Rowe Memorial Invitational Trot on Sunday night at Georgian Downs. This race was originally set to take place a week ago but had to be rescheduled after severe weather forced an early end to that program.

With Louis-Philippe Roy in the bike, Fashion Frenzie stepped to the lead from post six and led his eight rivals through fractions of 27 4/5, 56 4/5, and 1:24 2/5. 74-1 shot Truffles Too (Chris Christoforou) angled out of the pocket in the stretch and tried to mount a bid against the 1-5 favorite and pace-setter, but it was to no avail, as Fashion Frenzie held sway to tally by a length and a quarter. Truffles Too was a valiant runner-up and Combs Hanover (Ed Hensley) rounded out the trifecta.

The clocking of 1:52 3/5 erased the previous Canadian standard for an older gelding trotter on a five-eighths-mile track of 1:53 2/5 set by Abbey Road C (August 28, 2004) and Arrakis (August 29, 2021) at Georgian Downs.

"I actually thought there were going to be a little bit more leavers there in the race. The main thing I was focusing on for the first part of the race was the horse itself. I don't want to take anything from any of the horses, but it felt like it was a little softer group than it would have been last week with Forbidden Trade in it," said Roy. "My own worst enemy could be my own self just trying to rush things.

"He just ended up by himself, getting out of the gate and going around the first turn by himself. I got to the lead pretty easily, so by then I was really confident."

Richard Moreau trains Fashion Frenzie, a gelded son of Archangel, for owners Ecurie Francis Richard Inc., Mario Bourgea, Pierre Guillemette, and Sylvain Richard. Fashion Frenzie has 16 wins from 24 career starts, has now earned C$847,685, and paid $2.40 to win.