Mr. Bowling rolls to victory in John Longden 6000

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Mr. Bowling took advantage of a blistering early pace to beat Title Contender by a half-length in the $50,000 John Longden 6000 at Hastings Monday.

With Mario Gutierrez aboard, Mr. Bowling was near the rear while Modern and Herbie D were on a suicide mission up front in the 6 1/2-furlong race, carving out extreme fractions of 21.31 and 44.15 seconds for the first half-mile.

Mr. Bowling started to move into contention along the rail on the stretch turn and was full of run when Gutierrez moved him outside coming out of the turn. He continued his momentum to catch Title Contender in the final sixteenth. Mr. Bowling ran the distance in 1:16.23 and paid $8.20.

Title Contender stalked the pace, moved to the lead at the top of the stretch, but came up short. Considering how fast they went early, it was surprising to see Modern hold on to finish third.

“I felt pretty good about where I was early while the two horses were killing each other off up front,” said Gutierrez. “My horse finished well, and it’s always nice to win races in Vancouver.”

Mr. Bowling is trained by Troy Taylor and owned by Glen Todd.

Earlier on the card Taylor and Todd won the $50,000 Strawberry Morn with Hollywood Miss.

It was a big day for trainer Craig MacPherson, who won four of the eight races on the Victoria Day card. Jockey Richard Hamel also won four races, three for MacPherson.