P L Spencer set the fastest mile by a male sophomore trotter in Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) history, winning the lone $140,000 leg two Gold event on Monday, June 23 at Woodbine Mohawk Park in 1:51.3. The previous record of 1:52 was set by Mister Herbie while winning his OSS Super Final in 2011 at Woodbine Racetrack.

Bob McClure orchestrated the record-setting victory after battling with Ritchie Rich (Todd Ratchford) much of the stretch and eking out a one-length victory. Both trotters won leg one Gold events on May 29 at Mohawk when the event was split into two $90,000 divisions.

P L Spencer, at odds of 5-2, got away third as Fast Snap (Chris Christoforou) led the field of nine to the quarter pole in :27. Ritchie Rich, the 7-5 favourite, made his move to the front from fifth just before the :55.2 half with P L Spencer following closely. By the time the field reached the three-quarters in 1:23, the battle was set. McClure pulled P L Spencer from the pocket and attempted to sail past Ritchie Rich only to be rebuffed until the waning moments of the record mile.

Lmc Wagon Wheel was third. Fast Snap was fourth and Cousin Halifax picked up the final cheque.

“My colt raced great, but Ritchie Rich, that’s a very nice horse,” said McClure. “They’ve done a really good job with him. Honestly, when that horse removed to the front, I knew we had our work cut out for us. Todd [Ratchford] did everything he could to win the race. But, tonight, my colt really dug deep.”

P L Spencer, a gelded son of Resolver out of P L Indyanaca, was bred by Prince Lee Acres and is owned by his trainer, Steve Bossence of London, Ont., along with Richard Thompson, also of London, Derek Reid of Etobicoke, Ont., and E C S Racing LLC of Rockford, Michigan The group purchased P L Spencer for $40,000 at the 2023 London Classic Yearling Sale.

Bossence said the OSS record was, “nice, especially the way he did it – first up. One thing, he’s the smallest one of the bunch [in the race].”

P L Spencer now sports a record of 4-1-0 in seven 2025 starts. He’s earned $147,950 this year and $157,550 lifetime. His career record is now 5-1-0 in 11 starts.

He scratched sick out of the $227,000 Goodtimes Stakes on June 14, but Bossence said P L Spencer trained well last week. The trainer said he was confident P L Spencer was in good shape for the Gold. The mile and how P L Spencer battled proved the trotter was exceptional.

In addition to OSS action, Ghostly Casper was scary fast in the $28,000 Preferred 2 Trot, leading every step of the way with Tyler Borth in the bike. 

Leaving from post four as the 5-2 second choice, Borth hustled Ghostly Casper to the lead around Sid The Kid (Doug McNair) through an opening quarter of :27.2. Sid The Kid jumped it off on the backstretch, allowing Nasey (Travis Cullen) to inherit the pocket behind the pacesetter at the half in :56. Those two remained one-two around the final turn, with Ghostly Casper reaching three-quarters in 1:24.2. 

In the stretch, Nasey angled from the pocket in search of a 17-1 upset while 1-2 favourite Pemberton (James MacDonald) swung three-wire from third. Ghostly Casper continued to dig in the lane, trotting home in :27.4 to reach the wire first in 1:52.1 by a half-length over both Nasey and Pemberton. 

A two-time winner in 11 outings this year and 12-time winner for his career, Ghostly Casper is trained and co-owned by Benoit Baillargeon in addition to Teresa Davidson of Milton, Ont., and Santo Vena of Cedar Valley, Ont., and Nunzio Vena of Bolton, Ont. The five-year-old stallion son of Resolve-Cool Creek Breeze now boasts a career bankroll of $849,378.

The Monday night card also featured a pair of $16,000 Pop-Up Series divisions for trotters who are non-winners of $30,000 in 2025 in at least 10 starts. The divisions were won by Willowtime (Bob McClure, $3.70) in 1:53.4 and Head Of The Class (Travis Cullen, $16.60) in 1:53.3.

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

(Ontario Racing & Standardbred Canada)