Georgian Downs: Forbidden Trade dominates Earl Rowe Memorial

Forbidden Trade didn't disappoint in the C$75,000 Earl Rowe Memorial Invitational Trot on Sunday evening at Georgian Downs, winning handily in 1:51 3/5 to tie the Canadian record for a trotter on a five-eighths-mile oval.

Driven by Bob McClure from post two, Forbidden Trade had some company in the early going after leaving quickly, as Only For Justice (Chris Christoforou), Pikachu Hanover (Austin Sorrie), and Perfetto (Dagfin Henriksen) all had the same idea. Pikachu Hanover and Perfetto would eventually relent and find spots on the pylons, but Only For Justice drove on to hit the front before the 26 4/5 opening quarter. McClure didn't want the pocket with the 1-5 favorite, though, and he moved him to the top after that marker.

After taking command, Forbidden Trade didn't face any outside pressure through middle-half fractions of 55 and 1:23, and he would kick away from Only For Justice in a 28 3/5 final quarter to win by four lengths. Only For Justice dug in through the lane and was able to hold off Oney Hall (Trevor Henry) for second. Reign Of Honor (Denis St. Pierre) rallied from eighth to fourth, and Mass Fortune K (J.R. Plante) got fifth.

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The time of 1:51 3/5 matched the same clocking Lookslikeachpndale posted in the 2016 edition of the Earl Rowe.

Luc Blais trains Forbidden Trade, a 5-year-old Kadabra stallion, for owner Serge Godin's Determination stable. This was Forbidden Trade's 19th win from 38 lifetime tries, and he has now earned C$1,647,162. He paid $2.60 to win.