Raised By Lindy was not to be denied in Saturday night's (Sept. 24) $350,000 Elegantimage final for three-year-old trotting fillies at Woodbine Mohawk Park, giving her driver his third title in the event which is part of the track’s richest night of racing.

As the race unfolded, James MacDonald and Adare Castle were on a mission from post nine to get to the lead and were successful by the opener in :27.1, but that didn’t last long as favourite Raised By Lindy came calling and was well settled at the half reached in :56.2. First up came Mon Cheval and Todd McCarthy, and they were pressuring the leader as they trotted by the 1:24.3 three-quarters. 

Down the stretch, Yannick Gingras, aboard Raised By Lindy, was looking for potential threat and second favourite Warrawee Xenia, but that talented lass — who left from post 11 — broke in the late going. No one else was able to get by and Raised By Lindy stopped the clock in 1:52.1. Adare Castle took second with Mon Cheval third and Peyton Hanover fourth. Baby Longstocking collected the last cheque.

It was the fourth win of the year, and ninth overall, for the daughter of Walner owned by breeders Lindy Farms of Conn and trained by Domenico Cecere. It was the third Elegantimage final for Gingras, who also won with Mission Brief (2015)  and Ariana G (2017).

“She was [well in hand], she was fighting them off. I wasn’t sure where Bobby [McClure] was so I was trying to keep her going,” said Gingras, who noted that having only seven starts on Raised By Lindy’s card this year could help her in the autumn stakes season. “There are a lot of big races at the end of the year, so we’re looking forward to a nice fall.”

The Elegantimage Stakes were introduced in 2000 in honour of the great trotting mare of the same name. Bred by Diane Ingham and the late Harry Rutherford, the Balanced Image daughter earned just shy of a million dollars in her career which saw her named the best of her division in Canada following both her two- and three-year-old seasons.

Saturday’s trophy presentation was made by Doug Millard, who owned the race’s namesake throughout her long and successful racing and breeding career. He reported tonight that Elegantimage sadly passed away last year at the age of 27. Her final foal was also her most successful, the $511,173 winner Elegant Serenity, a daughter of Kadabra who raced in the 2015 Elegantimage finishing second in both her elimination and final for trainer/driver Roger Mayotte. 

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

(Woodbine)