For trainer Jimmy Takter and driver Brian Sears, the $5.6 million Breeders Crown extravaganza at Woodbine turned out to be a pretty profitable evening.

Takter, a 43-year-old native of Sweden, started off the eight-race Crown program last night by finishing 1-2 with his two entries in the $698,625 2-year-old filly trot. The winner was Flirtin Miss, which hung a narrow loss on stablemate Solveig in a track-record 1:56 1/5 mile.

John Campbell of Ailsa Craig, Ont., drove Flirtin Miss to victory, his record 41st triumph in the Breeders Crown series.

Then came Takter's only disappointment as heavily favoured Cabrini Hanover finished fifth in the $721,000 2-year-old filly pace. Cabrini Hanover was leading in deep stretch but simply ran out of gas.

Driver Mike Lachance said the filly didn't have "her normal pop. She made it to the top easily enough, but she didn't fire at the top of the stretch. I don't know why. She came up empty."

The race was won by Restive Hanover, a 7-to-1 shot that returned $17.80 for a $2 win bet. Restive Hanover fired from well back to post a five-length triumph over Fast Ruffles in 1:52 4/5.

But Takter's gloom was short-lived as Ken Warkentin captured the $657,375 2-year-old colt trot in 1:57 1/5. With Dave Miller in the sulky, Ken Warkentin survived a gruelling stretch battle with Southfork to finally pull clear at the wire.

After the race, Takter described the colt as "a truly phenomenal animal."

It was the eighth victory in nine career starts for Ken Warkentin and probably earned him the winterbook favourite's nod for next year's Hambletonian Trotting Classic.

The colt is owned in part by Maple Leafs winger Tie Domi, who attended last night's race along with teammate Gary Roberts. A jubilant Domi planted a kiss on Ken Warkentin's nose in the winner's circle.

The twin victories and second-place finish in the two races provided Takter's horses with some $850,000 in purse money. His fifth-place finish with Cabrini Hanover got him close to $900,000 for the evening.

Sears, a 36-year-old native of Pennsylvania, was enjoying a career night. He won three Crowns, including the $625,000 3-year-old colt trot with Yankee Slide, a 39-to-1 shot.

Sears' other winners came with Housethetruthbuilt in the $625,000 3-year-old filly trot and with Western Terror in the $693,750 3-year-old pace. That race was clocked in 1:50 2/5, the fastest mile of the eight Crowns.

Veteran driver Ron Pierce also had a good night, winning two races. One of them was with Rainbow Blue, which lived up to all her pre-race hype for the $762,500 3-year-old filly pace.

Rainbow Blue stepped the mile in 1:51, tying a Breeders Crown record. It was her 17th win in 18 starts this year and might have earned her a legitimate shot at horse of the year in North America, although Takter's trotter Windsongs Legacy is probably still the favourite for that coveted award.

Local favourite Invitro was a gallant runner-up to Rainbow Blue with L Dees Val third. Both the latter fillies were supplemented for $62,500 (U.S.).

Pierce's second winner was Village Jolt in the $829,000 2-year-old colt pace. At 6 to 1, Village Jolt defeated the two pre-race favourites, Allamerican Inca and Shanghai Phil in 1:51 1/5.