Hambletonian Oaks winner Bella Bellini pocketed tempo-setter Donna Soprano off the final turn, but when the pylons opened in the stretch sprint the gritty Luc Blais trainee fired back for the front and inched to a 1:52.3 victory in the $414,000 Elegantimage on Saturday (Sept. 18) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Off a rebound victory in the $160,260 Simcoe Stakes last week, driver Bob McClure floated Donna Soprano off the car as HP Mama B and Up And Ready charged off the wings for the top two spots to a :27.3 first quarter. Bella Bellini, the 3-5 favourite, raced unhurried from fifth, though parked around the first turn before settling at the cones into the backstretch.

McClure made his move for the front approaching a :56.3 half and grabbed control as Bella Bellini recommitted to racing uncovered into the final turn. Donna Soprano cruised on the point as Bella Bellini blitzed her in the turn to take over the lead by three-quarters in 1:24.3. With Donna Soprano to her back in the stretch, Bella Bellini sailed for home while drifting slightly off the pylons, giving Donna Soprano a seam. With that opening, the Donato Hanover filly battled back to reclaim the lead in midstretch and slide to victory over Bella Bellini. Katies Lucky Day tracked Bella Bellini to finish third with Beautiful Game coming from third over for fourth.

“Once we got the last turn out of the way, I could kind of drive on her a little more,” McClure said after the race. “She’s a gamer. She wants to get there first. I was a little worried when Dexter [Dunn and Bella Bellini] cleared me at the head of the lane, but luckily she still had a lane and she showed her grit.

“She’s a handful,” McClure also said, “but it’s a real testament to Luc Blais and his team there. She could’ve been easily ruined early and ruined throughout. They’ve done an amazing job maintaining her, keeping her behaved. She actually progressively gets better behaved through the season, and I think they deserve a lot of credit.”

Owned by Determination, Donna Soprano won her third race from eight starts this season and her eighth from 15 overall, pushing her earnings to $962,155. She paid $6.20 to win.

The Elegantimage was part of a stakes-packed program at Woodbine Mohawk Park headlined by the Canadian Trotting Classic. Read all the recaps in the Mohawk Saturday Stakes News Centre.