Flowing Tribute and Very Sassy each won a $90,000 Gold Series division of the Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) in the second leg for two-year-old trotting fillies on Friday, July 25 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Flowing Tribute, the 4-5 favourite in the first division driven by Bob McClure, won the battle of the July 11 Leg 1 Gold winners with an easy front-end effort in 1:55.1. Timeless (Chris Christoforou) finished 2-3/4 lengths back in second and Bingo Night (Tyler Jones), the other Leg 1 winner, closed well to be third. Calgary Morning (James MacDonald) and Lo And Behold (Louis-Philippe Roy) picked up the final cheques in the field of nine.

Flowing Tribute put up fractions of :27.3, :58.1 and 1:27.2 before closing it out with a :27.4 final frame, paying $3.80 to win.

“I never even started [Flowing Tribute] up tonight,” said McClure in a post-race interview. “That was like a training mile for her.

“[Off the gate], I looked over and I didn't see Tyler leaving [with Bingo Night]. I was surprised. And I figured if he had to come any amount of distance to come get us, he was going to have his hands full. And then I saw Jody [Jamieson driving Canukeepasecret] coming first-up. I figured we were kind of in an armchair ride from there.”

Paul Reid trains the perfect two-for-two filly with earnings of $90,000 for owners Pat Dillon of Port Hope, Ont., Laurie Rooney of Deleon Springs, Florida, Brian Kleinberg of Madison, New Jersey and Richard Beinhauer of Venetia, Pennsylvania. 

The Green Manalishi S‑Watch The Show filly, purchased for $30,000 at last year’s London Classic Yearling Sale, was bred by Diane Ingham of Mount Pleasant, Ont., and Brenda Barnim of St. George Brant, Ont.

“I’ve waited a long time for a horse like that,” said an emotional Dillon, giving credit to Reid for picking out Flowing Tribute. “He picked the filly out, asked me if I wanted to go in and I said 'yes' right away... We're very fortunate. Everybody should have this feeling.”

In the second division, Very Sassy and Chris Christoforou closed with a flourish to steal the victory away from front-stepper Barbara May (Doug McNair) by neck in 1:55.2. Figuratively (Tyler Jones) was third, followed by Cupid Hall (Travis Henry) and HP Crystaline (Louis-Philippe Roy). The other three horses, including even-money favourite A Splash Of Green (James MacDonald), all made breaks during the mile.

Barbara May cut fractions of :28, :58.1 and 1:27.1 with Very Sassy in the hunt the whole way before springing from the pocket to score with a :27.4 final frame.

Very Sassy was sent off at 16-1 odds and paid $34.20 for the upset win.

The victory was the first in three career starts for the homebred daughter of Muscle Mass out of Very Classy trained by Matt Bax for the Bax Stable of Campbellville, Ont., and breeder Glengate Farm of Erin, Ont. Very Sassy, who was second to Bingo Night in Leg 1, now sports earnings of $67,850.

John Bax, who will be inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame on Aug. 6, said he was "a little surprised" how well Very Sassy has come along.

“She’s a big, strong mare and really didn’t show a lot of quick speed, but I am impressed with her,” said Bax, adding that Very Sassy didn't appear to be special training down. “You never know which ones are going to grab the bit and want to beat somebody, and if you don’t have that, you don't get too far.”

Friday's card included multiple two-year-old races, but none faster that the $20,000 opening leg of the Dream Maker Pacing Series. Sweet Lovin Lou ($3.10), driven by James MacDonald, benefitted from hot early fractions as she swept to the lead turning for home and took off in a :27.2 final quarter to win by a widening 7-1/2 lengths in a new mark 1:51 flat. 

Dan Lagace trains and co-owns the two-for-two colt by Sweet Lou out of Lovers Dream with Edwin Buhler of Wantagh, New York. Big Als Stables of Woodbridge, Ont., and Brooke & Brady Lagace of Cambridge, Ont. 

Stonebridge Bluff (Travis Cullen) overcame early stretch interference near the back of the pack and closed for the runner-up honours while mid-mile leader Dad (Doug McNair) rounded out the top three.

The Preferred pacing mares faced off in their weekly $36,000 class with driver Ed Hensley and trainer Ashleigh Hensley's Caviar N Crackers ($4.40) winning her third in a row. 

The favoured Captive Audience-Crackers Hot Shot mare progressed first-over from mid-pack after a :56.1 half and unleashed a :26 final kicker to take top honours, winning by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:50.3. Glenboro, driven by Ashleigh's brother Travis Cullen and trained by her mother Jodie Cullen, won a close race for place over Angostura Hanover (Trevor Henry) and pacesetter Grit N Grace (Jody Jamieson). 

A nine-time winner in her five-year-old campaign, Caviar N Crackers leads all older pacing mares for earnings in Canada so far this year with $198,840 banked from 23 starts.

Trainer Doug Hie's Onlythegooddiyoung ($31.10) was a 1:51 upset winner with Phil Hudon at the lines in the $25,000 final of a Pop-Up Series for pacing fillies and mares that are non-winners of $25,000 in a minimum of 10 starts in 2025, with starters for a purse of $10,000 or less in their last start also eligible.

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

(Ontario Racing & Standardbred Canada)