Woodbine: County Lineman fits well in allowance feature

ETOBICOKE, Ontario — County Lineman, who was a late scratch prior to a recent engagement, heads the featured seventh race Wednesday night at Woodbine, a 6 1/2-furlong allowance for Ontario-sired non-winners of three.

County Lineman had a productive two-race stint here in May, when he captured an allowance sprint before finishing a troubled third in an Ontario-sired allowance route. He checked in a distant 11th in the July 7 Queen’s Plate after running against the grain of an inside/speed bias on the wet Polytrack.

After a two-month vacation, County Lineman rallied strongly for second in his turf debut Sept. 1 in the restricted Vice Regent Stakes. He was scratched after getting loose on the backstretch just before a Sept. 29 allowance but came back to breeze five-eighths in a lively 1:01 last Friday.

Gary Boulanger retains the mount on County Lineman, who is trained by Mark Frostad.

Other contenders in the race include Fighting Chris and Ratso Rizzo.

Fighting Chris raced wide throughout when a commendable fourth in the one-mile Vice Regent. He won an allowance for non-winners of two the start before, which came on the heels of a narrow loss in another Polytrack sprint at that Ontario-sired class.

Ratso Rizzo might lead the way. He prevailed after stalking a fast pace in a 6 1/2-furlong allowance Sept. 6.

◗ The eighth and final race on the card launches the Jackpot Hi 5, a tricky wager that requires bettors to select the first five finishers in the exact order. The entire pool pays out only when there is one ticket sold that correctly tabs the top five finishers. If there is not a single winning ticket, half of the pool will be carried over to the last race on the next card. The other half will be paid out in consolations to those with the correct order of finish. If there are no winning tickets, the entire pool, minus takeout, will be carried over.

The Jackpot Hi 5 has a 20-cent minimum and a low 15 percent takeout. The first lone winner is guaranteed at least $10,000, which is Woodbine’s way of sweetening the pot if the initial payout is low.

The dropping Shannon’s Posse should be favored in the eighth race, a $10,000 maiden claimer going six furlongs. In his two most recent starts, Shannon’s Posse was fourth in a pair of six-furlong sprints against $32,000 and $25,000 maidens. Tyler Pizarro was named to ride him by trainer Sam DiPasquale, who swept the early double last Saturday.