War N Munn, Bad As Leader capture finals

The harness racing series finals of The Count B and Miss Vera Bars were in the spotlight Friday night at Woodbine Racetrack.

A field of nine three-year-old pacers competed in the $42,200 The Count B final, while a field of eight three-year-old pacing fillies squared off in the $41,600 Ontario Girls final.

All eyes were on Carmen Auciello trainee War N Munn, who aimed for a series sweep in The Count B Final, and the sophomore lived up to the hype.

Driven by Jonathan Drury, War N Munn, the 2/5 favourite, sprinted off the wings of the gate from post-eight. Gotti and Trevor Henry also left hard and dueled by the opening-quarter with War N Munn in :26.1.

War N Munn cleared to the front midway around the first turn and Drury was able to catch a second-quarter breather, as the favourite paced by the half in :56.

After reaching the three-quarter pole in 1:24.4, War N Munn said goodbye to his challengers and sprinted home comfortably in :28 to win by an impressive 7½ lengths in 1:52.4.

Gotti help his position to finish second, while New Standard rallied from near the back to finish third at odds of 50/1.

A son of Stonebridge Regal, War N Munn is owned by George Munniksma of Washington, New Jersey. The sophomore pacing colt shipped into the barn of conditioner Auciello from trainer Kerin Warner for the start of The Count B series.

War N Munn is now three for three in 2016 and sports a career record of five wins in 12 starts. The Count B final victory established a new career-mark for the three-year-old and pushes his career earnings over $81,000.

War N Munn paid $2.90 to win.

War N Munn

Preliminary leg winners Cracklin Rosie and Bad As Leader headlined the Miss VeraBars final.

Cracklin Rosie, the 8/5 favourite, got away sixth for driver Phil Hudon, while Bad As Leader, the 2/1 second choice, was placed closer in third by driver Trevor Henry.

Arizona Seelster cut out an opening-quarter of :27.2 and also led the field by the half in :57.1. Henry opted to pull from third nearing the half and quickly cleared to the front with Bad As Leader before the final turn.

Meanwhile, Cracklin Rosie was moving up on the outside in mid-pack, but was pushed out three-wide and took the long way around the final turn.

After a three-quarter clocking of 1:25.2, Bad As Leader would not surrender the lead and paced home strongly to win the Miss VeraBars final by a length and a half in 1:53.4.

Im In Luv finished second, while Windsun Glory grabbed third. Cracklin Rosie was just nosed out for fourth by Party In Rome.

A daughter of Badlands Hanover, Bad As Leader is trained by Victor Puddy for owners Bill Manes and William Cripps. The sophomore pacing filly now has four wins in six attempts this season and six victories in ten career starts.

The MissVeraBars final victory pushes Bad As Leader's career earnings to over $69,000. She paid $6.70 to win.

Bad As Leader

Both series carried the same conditions, as Non-Winners of Three Races or $40,000 lifetime as of October 31, 2015 were eligible to The Count B and Miss VeraBars.

Winter series action continues Saturday night at Woodbine with the final of the Ontario Girls and second leg of the Ontario Boys. Post time is 7:30 p.m.

Mark McKelvie