Top sophomore trotters contested two divisions of the Simcoe Stakes to head the Maple Leaf Trot/Canadian Pacing Derby night undercard, which also featured a pair of $90,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Leg 4 splits for sophomore pacing males, on Saturday, Aug. 30 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Louis-Philippe Roy planted Emoticon Legacy on the point and carved a comfortable mile as the 1-5 chalk to take the Grade 3 $158,125 Simcoe open division in a stakes-record 1:50.3.

Roy fired Emoticon Legacy out of post six to reach the fore approaching a :27.2 first quarter while Maryland (Dexter Dunn), off as the 9-5 second choice, pushed from the pylon post to race fourth. No challenges on the leader and a slowed tempo to a :57 half then forced Maryland to mount a first-over bid after Emoticon Hanover, at which point Roy promptly hit the accelerator through the far turn. Emoticon Legacy peeled clear enough of the pack that Maryland had room to briefly tuck into the pocket and prepare for a stretch battle passing three-quarters in 1:24. But Maryland lost stride turning for home, leaving Emoticon Legacy on a wide lead as Roy geared him down before crossing the finish to win by 7-1/4 lengths. P L Spencer (Bob McClure) rallied for second with Fadeaway Hanover (James MacDonald) settling for third.

“You don’t want to go too fast for no reason, but I was feeling a little bad, felt like he could’ve gone [1:]49 easily tonight,” Roy said after the race. “For a trotting stallion, [1:]49’s kind of the catching number instead of [1:]50, but he’s going to have a chance again. He was so, so good tonight. It was just a training mile for him.”

Emoticon Legacy’s 1:50.3 mile nonetheless lowered the stakes record in the Simcoe, chopping a second off the 1:51.3 mark established last year by 2024 Hambletonian runner-up Highland Kismet. He was also one-fifth off tying his own Canadian record that he set when winning the Goodtimes earlier this year.

Luc Blais trains Emoticon Legacy, a homebred Walner colt out of the champion mare Emoticon Hanover, for owner Determination of Montreal, Que. The colt won his fifth race from seven starts this season and his ninth race from 14 starts in his career, good for $871,270 in earnings. He paid $2.70 to win. 

R Dutchess, off a pocket ride, mounted a formidable challenge against 8-5 second-choice Lasting Dream to take the Grade 3 $159,725 Simcoe Stakes division for fillies in 1:52.4.

Tim Tetrick sent R Dutchess forward out of post five and brushed by early leader Sprite Seelster (Tyler Borth) to take the top after a :27 first quarter. Once she cleared to the lead, Lasting Dream (Roy) popped out of third and zipped along the rim to seize command and place R Dutchess into the pocket on the move to a :56.1 half.

More challengers loomed through the far turn with Highlandstarburst (Yannick Gingras) hoisting the mast outside, and she ranged within a length of the Lasting Dream on the march to three-quarters in 1:25.3. But Highlandstarburst bobbled off stride rounding the bottom corner, giving R Dutchess space to tip outside and gather momentum for a homestretch sprint. R Dutchess grinded past Lasting Dream nearing the final eighth of a mile and drove away to win by two lengths. Sprite Seelster finished third.

“I took a little bit of a shot, but I was following one of the best horses in the race,” Tetrick said of his potentially locked trip in the race. “I had really been racing her hard, so I thought the worst-case scenario was that she’d find room late, and she got lucky and did.”

Susie Kerwood assumed training duties on R Dutchess from John Butenschoen for the filly’s Canadian campaign, which points next to the Elegantimage eliminations on Friday, Sept. 12. R Dutchess, leased by M And L of Delaware/Armitage Farm, won her fourth race from eight starts this season and improved to seven-for-20 overall with earnings of $515,626.

“She’s been good,” Tetrick said. “She just had one little hiccup on Hambo elimination night; we thought she’d be a contender in the Oaks. She’s been good every start; she’s been one-two every time. She’s a really nice filly. She’s starting to get to show it.”

R Dutchess paid $3.20 to win. ​ 

Fifth And Five and Allstar Maniac were the respective winners of the two Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Gold divisions.

In the first Gold event, Fifth And Five won his sixth straight race, posting a 1:50.3 victory that was one length better than Backup Plan (Roy). Jody Jamieson drove the son of Bettors Delight-Filou Fly Fast to victory. 

Control Rocks (Borth) led the six-horse field to the :26.1 quarter, the :55.1 half and the 1:22.4 three-quarters with Fifth And Five lurking in the pocket. Shortly after the top of the stretch, Jamieson angled Fifth And Five out, and the colt and sprinted to victory. Set Shot (Bob McClure) was third.

“I thought I was going to have the inside there for a second, and [Borth] shut it off,” Jamieson said. “But, when I got him back out to the outside, God, he just dug in. He's just a good horse. He's a damn good horse.”

Third in his Gold test on May 24 at Mohawk, Fifth And Five shifted to the Grassroots side of the OSS program and won at Mohawk both on June 21 and July 15 – in a career-best 1:49.2 in the latter – before adding another Grassroots triumph on Aug. 2 at Hiawatha Horse Park. Saturday's victory was his first Gold win of the year and second lifetime.

“He's got so much confidence right now… It’s a real nice feather in our cap to come back up to the Gold and do right by this horse… after a bit of a rough start early,” Jamieson told Woodbine broadcaster John Rallis. “He’s just such a nice little guy, and I'm so happy for everybody.”

Fifth And Five improved to 7-1-1 in 11 starts in 2025 and is now 9-3-2 in 20 lifetime outings. The $45,000 payday upped his seasonal bankroll to $130,402 and his lifetime earnings to $303,577. Fifth And Five is owned by Carl Jamieson of Puslinch, Ont., who trains him, 1140545 Ontario Ltd. of Guelph, Ont. and Trevor Edwards of Kirkton, Ont. The colt was bred by Darryl Kaplan of Toronto, Ont., along with Roy Spoxton and Harbhajan Singh Dhillon of Brampton, Ont.

Fifth And Five paid $3.50 to win.

In the second Gold event, MacDonald drove 1-9 favourite Allstar Maniac to a half-length win over Crack Shot (Doug McNair) in 1:49.4.

MacDonald had Allstar Maniac three-wide on the first turn to get to the engine at the quarter in :26.3 in the field of seven, and the gelding led the way through fractions of :55.1 and 1:23.3, with Crack Shot on his heels most of the way. Crack Shot gained down the lane, but Allstar Maniac dug in to complete the victory. Finishing third was Sterling Choice (Billy Davis Jr.).

“I was three-wide early, but I knew what Doug was doing,” MacDonald told Rallis. “He was trying to get in the two-hole, so I was out there, but I wasn't pushing [Allstar Maniac] too hard, just kind of floating along… So, I got stung, but it wasn't as bad, maybe, as it looked. And then I was able to rate him the rest of the way. I got a pretty good breather in the middle half, and then when he hits the top of the stretch, he just flies. 

"It was a tricky race, but it's always a cat-and-mouse race when there's money on the line, especially with a great driver like Doug and another great horse.”

The win was the second career Gold victory for Allstar Maniac, who set a 1:49 Canadian, track, and OSS record for a sophomore male pacer on a five-eighths mile track while winning the Aug. 4 Gold at Grand River Raceway.

“He's just a ball of speed. It's good to get the job done with him,” MacDonald said.

Winning trainer Nick Gallucci said Allstar Maniac is “just a great racehorse. And like James said, at the head of the lane, he's just ready for all comers. It was nice to see tonight.”

The gelded son of All Bets Off-Shes A Maniac, owned by Millar Farms of Stouffville, Ont. and bred by Allstar Farms of Millbank, Ont., improved to 4-0-2 in seven starts in 2025 and 6-1-4 in 14 career outings. Allstar Maniac has seasonal earnings of $126,320 and a lifetime bankroll of $265,784.

Allstar Maniac paid $2.30 for the win.

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

(Woodbine & Ontario Racing)