Ice Ice Baby and Striking Terror, a pair of first-time starters, were victorious in Monday’s two $40,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold eliminations for two-year-old filly pacers
at Mohawk Racetrack.
Striking Terror converted from a two-hole trip for driver Randy Waples to win in 1:55.2 in the opening contest. The daughter of Western Terror - E Ts Camille turned back Lily Ellie with F Bs Terror landing the show spot.
“She was a real handful in the baby race when she sat in the two-hole; she had me right at my wit’s end trying to keep her in there,” said driver Randy Waples. “The horse in front that day made a break which let me back around to the front, so I kind of wanted to keep her in front. Chris’ horse [Chris Christoforou driving Lily Ellie] come and she was live, her lines looked good from London so I didn’t mind sitting on her back. If not, I would have been just as happy to stay in front.”
Striking Terror, who had won two of three qualifiers in preparation for Monday’s assignment, returned $11.90 for the win. She is trained by Travis Alexander for the Fiddlers Creek Stables of West Bloomfield, Michigan.
In the second split, Ice Ice Baby also used an inside trip to her advantage as she popped out in mid stretch and overhauled her rivals in 1:55 for trainer Darren McCall who was in the driver’s seat. Tiz A Dream overcame post nine to finish second with Windsong Grand Ave, who made a miscue just after the start, came all the way back to finish third.
“We own her and she’s still a little green; she wanders a little bit and we decided to give her a bit of an education,” said trainer/driver Darren McCall when asked about why he opted to drive the youngster as opposed to turn the lines over to a catch-driver. “She got lucky and she won which is great, but we just wanted to teach her how to race.”
“The horse on the outside of me was gapping off a little bit and shifting ground, so I had enough ground to come out and she was pretty comfortable,” he added. “I only had three two-year-olds to start with, and I liked her second best. But in the last month she’s really made a big turnaround. She always had the power, but she kind of wasn’t focused. She’s learning real quick right now.”
The daughter of Modern Art - Black Ice was totally overlooked by the wagering public and returned a whopping $107.10 to win. She is owned by the Living Our Dreams Stable of Cambridge, Ontario.
The final goes postward next Monday night at Mohawk Racetrack, and here’s a look at the field in post position order:
$130,000 OSS Gold Series Final
1. Windsong Grand Ave
2. Tiz To Dream
3. Lily Ellie
4. St Lads Trixie
5. Mobro Flirt
6. Striking Terror
7. F Bs Terror
8. Ice Ice Baby
9. Precious Cammill
10. Miss All Fun
(With files from WEG)
To view Monday’s harness racing results, click here.