The second leg of the Pop-Up Series for pacing mares at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Thursday, Sept. 5 went out with a bang, as 41-1 shot Chelsis Choice connected for just her third win in the last 24 months.

Sitting ninth and last for driver Tyler Borth at the three-quarter mark in the second $12,000 Pop-Up division, Chelsis Choice cruised past a group of weary frontrunners in the stretch and held off the late surge of Royal Tell (Travis Cullen) by half a length for the 1:53.1 upset. Stonebridge Drama (Austin Sorrie) rounded out the top trio.

Ricky Montgomery trains Chelsis Choice (Big Jim - Justabitevil) for owner Chelsi Hughes of Etobicoke, Ont. The six-year-old mare notched her second win in 20 starts this year, and that's two more than she accrused in 2023 and double her win output (one) from 2022. In fact, that 2022 victory came nearly two years ago to the day — Sept. 9, 2022, where she took her 1:51.4 lifetime mark at the same racetrack.

With odds of 41-1, Chelsis Choice paid $84.10 to win and she added another $6,000 to her $158,559   in lifetime purses.

The first Pop-Up division played out much differently, with Better B Donna N and Jonathan Drury scoring in wire-to-wire fashion. Clearing to the front from post six, Better B Donna N handled the hard work on top through fractions of :26.4, :56.2 and 1:24.4 before scooting home in :27.4 for the 1:52.3 tally. Ladysmith (Phil Hudon) was two lengths in arrears to take place honours, and Compassrose De Vie (Trevor Henry) snagged the show dough.

Stephen Klunowski of North York, Ont. owns Better Be Donna N (Betterthancheddar - Hip Pocket), who edged closer to the $600,000 mark in lifetime earnings with her 37th career victory. Carmen Auciello trains the 10-year-old, and she returned $6.30 on a $2 win wager.

The Pop-Up Series featured distaffers with a minimum of 10 seasonal starts that were non-winners of $18,000 in 2024, or not averaging $1,400 per start this year. The $20,000 final is set for Thursday, Sept. 12.

For the full results from Thursday's card of harness racing in Campbellville, click the following link: Thursday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.

(Standardbred Canada)