Sunny Dee Perfect In Eight
Three-year-old pacing fillies were out in full force Saturday evening at Woodbine Mohawk Park, as the OSS Gold Series rolled into town with three divisions on tap.
Sunny Dee kept her perfect record intact thanks to a front-stepping score in her $73,867 division for driver Trevor Henry and trainer Bob McIntosh.
Henry got away third with the homebred daughter of Sunshine Beach-West Of L A, but she took command in the second quarter when Henry asked her to sprint to the top. After Better Single threw down the :26.4 opener, it was Sunny Dee who sailed through middle splits of :56.2 and 1:24.4. She motored home in :27.4 to win by 3-3/4 lengths over Deb. Chocolatemilktoast was a hard-closing third.
Robert McIntosh Stables Inc, C S X Stables and Al McIntosh Holdings Inc share ownership on the eight-time winner who upped her lifetime earnings to $172,579 with the win.
Betcha Baby found the finish line just in time en route to capturing her $73,867 division in 1:54.1 for the team of driver Sylvain Filion and conditioner Nick Gallucci.
Village Joules marched to the early lead in :27.3 before coming under pressure from the parked out Betcha Baby. Filion cleared to the lead with his ticket to victory lane, but Girls Got Rhythm applied heat on the new leader. Girls Got Rhythm took over command just past the mid-way point in :57, and she then led the fillies to the three-quarter pole in 1:25. A closing quarter clocked in :29 was just enough for Betcha Baby to rally to the nose decision over race favourite Lovely Donna in 1:54.1. Sports Flix came up a head short while finishing third.
Velocity Standardbreds of Lebanon, OH owns the daughter of Bettors Delight-Me And My Baby. After being unraced as a freshman, Betcha Baby now owns a 2-3-0 record from seven assignments in her sophomore campaign. She’s closing in on $50,000 in lifetime earnings.
Boadicea was a 12-1 upset winner over heavily favoured Powerful Chris in the third – and final – division for driver Jonathan Drury and trainer Bill Budd.
Drury hustled the daughter of Big Jim-Rose Seelster to the lead in :27.2, and she proceeded to front step the group to the half in :55. Heavy favourite Powerful Chris was on the move in the backstretch, and she eventually worked her way to the top shortly past the half. She put up a three-quarter clocking of 1:23.3, but she couldn’t fend off the re-rallying Boadicea in deep stretch. That lass fired home in :27.4 to win by 2-1/2 lengths over Powerful Chris in a career-best clocking of 1:51.3. Summer Charm was a distant third in the $73,066 affair.
Let go at odds of 12-1, the Bill Budd trainee has won two of her first three starts of the season while stashing away more than $45,000 in purses. The five-time winner, who is owned by Charlie and Gordon Lawrence, has banked more than $67,000 to date.
To view results for Saturday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Saturday Results – Woodbine Mohawk Park.