Tattoo Artist collected his second Gold Series and fourth consecutive victory at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday (July 25) as the three-year-old pacing colts met for the second time in their Ontario Sires Stakes season.

Lining up at post 1 with Bob McClure in the race bike, Tattoo Artist took a brief spin in the pocket as Aneto led the field of six to a :26.4 opening quarter. But McClure soon moved Tattoo Artist for the front where he rang a :54.2 half and 1:21.1 three-quarters. Down the stretch the favourite had to contend with a hard-closing Beach Blanket Book, hanging on for a neck victory in 1:49.1. Indictable Hanover finished two lengths back in third.

“I think that three weeks hurt him a bit,” said trainer Dr. Ian Moore, noting that Tattoo Artist had not raced since the Gold Series season opener on July 4. “I think that good horses have got to be trained or raced pretty well right to where they’re going to go, or else if you don’t and they have too big a gap there, they may struggle a little bit. And he certainly got a little tired on the end there tonight, which is uncharacteristic of him.”

Tattoo Artist and his peers face the same three-week gap before the next Gold Series event, at Rideau Carleton Raceway on Aug. 16, and the North America Cup eliminations scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 22. The North America Cup has been circled in red on Tattoo Artist’s calendar for months, so Moore is a bit undecided about how the coming weeks will play out for the Hes Watching colt. His preference would be to race the colt at Woodbine Mohawk Park in preparation for the North America Cup, but he also does not fancy putting the sophomore in against more experienced competition, which may see him make the trip to Rideau Carleton and head into the elimination on short rest.

“I’ll have to start looking somewhere and see what we come up with. I’m not taking him across the border anywhere, so we’ll see if we can find something here for him,” Dr. Moore said, who conditions Tattoo Artist for Frank Cannon and Let It Ride Stables Inc. “They don’t want to train this time of year, they want to race now. Earlier on they’re gung ho to train, and then once the racing starts they look forward to that, any competitive horse does, and he’s a good competitive horse and he looks forward to it, so it’s difficult. You want to keep their mind fresh and their body in good shape and ready to roll when it’s time.”

The second $104,800 Gold division saw heavy favourite Beaumond Hanover and driver Jody Jamieson land in fourth from post 2 as Rhythm In Motion rolled out to a :26.3 quarter. Jamieson sent Beaumond Hanover to the front heading by the :54.2 half and the colt cruised through three-quarters in 1:22.4 and moved to a one-and-one-quarter length victory in 1:49.2. Rhythm In Motion stayed game for second and Springbridge Jim sprinted into third.

“He caught the softer division, so I thought if everything goes right he should win it,” said owner-trainer Jack Darling. “It all worked out good. He (Jamieson) was just kind of sitting there chilly through the lane.”

The win was also Beaumond Hanover’s second Gold Series win and fourth of the season. The Sportswriter son prepped for Saturday’s test with a 1:49.4 win in a July 18 overnight event at Woodbine Mohawk Park, but, like Moore, Darling is also considering his options heading toward the North America Cup.

“It’s just turned out, because of the situation this year, that the schedule isn’t good, because you’ve got, like for my horse I’ve got a Gold at Rideau, which you hate to miss that, and then you’ve got the NA Cup, the elims and the final, then the week after is the Somebeachsomewhere, the week after that is the Simcoe, both good races, and then the week after that is another Gold, so it’s just going to be tough to map out,” Darling said. “If you’re going to skip the NA Cup, then the schedule is just fine, but it’s hard to skip the million dollar race.”

While Darling considers his options, Beaumond Hanover will maintain his usual routine, which Darling says has not varied much even as the racing season heats up.

“I try to train him light, but he’s such a good trainer he seems to have to go a certain speed, or it’s like he’s done nothing,” Darling said. “I train him faster than I would another horse, but it’s actually easier on him, he just needs to roll along. He just always feels good, always trains great. He’s just a real pleasure to have around.”

(Ontario Sires Stakes)

A disqualification in the $36,000 Preferred Pace led to a different horse entering the winner's circle. Read the recap of the evening's co-featured events here.

To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.