Play The Bell’s Grassroots win at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Friday evening was impressive — digging deep to hang on by a nose in the driving rain — but given what the three-year-old pacing filly has been through in the last month it was positively inspiring.

“When we scratched out of the Gold in London (May 26) it was because she got Colitis on the day of the race,” explained trainer Casie Coleman. “She was in Guelph University for five or six days and I wasn’t sure which way it would go at first, then she snapped out of it.”

A Gold Series regular at two, Play The Bell had started her sophomore campaign with a fourth-place finish in the May 19 Standardbred Breeders of Ontario Association Stakes, but Coleman felt the filly was not ready for the kind of fast mile that the Gold fillies are expected to deliver in their $125,000 contest on Saturday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

“We decided to go to the Grassroots as she wasn’t ready for the Gold with just the one fast mile we could put into her,” said the Cambridge resident. “She raced well. That was a big mile in the mud out of Post 9.”

Play The Bell and driver Bob McClure powered away from Post 9 and led the field of nine through fractions of :27, :56.1 and 1:24.2. Pressured hard in the stretch by pocket-sitting Azure Seelster and fan favourite Neon Moon, Play The Bell found something in reserve and kept a nose in front to claim the 1:53.2 victory over a track rated one second slower than normal. Azure Seelster settled for second, with Neon Moon a head back in third.

Coleman shares ownership of Shadow Play daughter Play The Bell with her partners in the West Wins Stable of Cambridge, Mac Nichol of Burlington and Calhoun Racing Ltd of Chatham, Ontario. So long as she bounces back well from Friday’s start the winner of $211,599 is expected to be back in the Gold Series for the third leg at Woodbine Mohawk Park on July 20.

Unlike Play The Bell, Lady Bubbles will be sticking with the Grassroots when it heads to Grand River Raceway’s half-mile oval for the third leg on August 6. The Sportswriter daughter picked up her second straight Grassroots win in the first $18,800 division on Friday, contested over a dry, fast track, and would love to make it a three-peat.

“She should be good there if she gets a good draw,” noted trainer Mark Steacy of Lansdowne, Ontario. “She has been a real pleasure so far this year. She always gives a great effort. She has a big heart for a little horse.”

Guelph, Ontario resident James MacDonald piloted Lady Bubbles to the victory, which saw her hit the wire in a personal best 1:53.1, a neck ahead of the fast–closing Sharks Summrshandy. Startistic Wonder crossed the wire third, but was placed back to fifth due to a late break which elevated Askmysecretary to the third spot.

The win was the third of the season for Lady Bubbles and her fifth in Ontario Sires Stakes action; she was a three-time Grassroots winner at two. Hudson Standardbred Stable Inc of Hudson, Quebec bred and owns the winner of $86,055.

Driver Louis Philippe Roy captured the other two Grassroots divisions, piloting Katniss S BG and Saulsbrook Beauty to their first-ever Ontario Sires Stakes victories.

In the second division Roy sent Katniss S BG to the front from Post 7, yielded to favourite Lifelong Dream through the central panels and then fired back to the front in the stretch, reaching the wire two and three-quarter lengths the best in 1:53. Lifelong Dream settled for second and Hey Sweetie was third in the last division contested before the track was downgraded from fast to good.

Puslinch, Ontario resident Richard Moreau trains Mach Three daughter Katniss S BG for owner-breeders Sylvain Descheneaux and Gaston Bibeau of Sorel-Tracy, Quebec.

“She is a perfect size mare owned by people from home who raised her,” said Moreau. “Thanks to Louis, everybody is happy.”

Roy made Saulsbrook Beauty’s owner-breeders happy with a come-from-behind steer from Post 7. Saulsbrook Beauty circled around the leaders in the stretch to claim a three-quarter length victory in a personal best 1:55.3 over the rain-soaked oval. Mittany Nicole was second and Shadow World completed the top three.

Brain Lee trains the Shadow Play daughter for Saulsbrook Stables Inc of Windsor, Nova Scotia and Louis Willinger of Louisville, Kentucky.

The classy Sandbetweenurtoes registered her first win of 2018 in impressive fashion Friday evening at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

The seven-year-old winner of more than $1 million powered to a 1:49.3 victory in this week’s edition of the $30,000 Mares Preferred.

Driven by Jody Jamieson, Sandbetweenurtoes made a second-quarter rush to the lead from fourth and led a field of six by the half in :54.4. Jamieson kept the foot down on the Richard Moreau trained pacing mare and smoked a :27.3 third-quarter to lead by four lengths turning for home.

Sandbetweenurtoes wasn’t going to be denied her first win of the season and paced home in :27.1 for the sub-1:50 score. Witch Dali, also from the Moreau barn, charged through rivals to finish second, beat three-quarters of a length. American Sara and P L Hurricane finished third and fourth, respectively.

Owned by Brad Grant, Sandbetweenurtoes was making her fifth start of the season Friday and was coming in off a third-place finish, her best result of the season. The daughter of Somebeachsomewhere won 12 of 30 starts and banked over $243,000 last season en route to winning an O’Brien Award.

Friday’s victory increases Sandbetweenurtoes career numbers to 34 wins and $1,047,782 earned. She paid $6.40 to win.

Live racing continues Saturday evening at Woodbine Mohawk Park with an 11-race card highlighted by a trio of Ontario Sires Stakes Gold divisions for three-year-old pacers. Post time is 7:30 p.m.

Ontario Sires Stakes action continues at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday, June 23 with two Gold Series divisions for the three-year-old pacing colts (Races 2 and 9) and one for the three-year-old pacing fillies (Race 6). Saturday’s program gets under way at 7:30 p.m.

(With files from OSS / Woodbine Mohawk Park)

To view results for Friday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Friday Results – Woodbine Mohawk Park.