Bruno No No No soared to a 1:49.1 victory in the $22,000 Pop-Up Series second leg for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings on Thursday, Oct. 16 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

The colt did it all himself, reaching the top with an early rush to the quarter in :25.3, ringing up :53.3 and 1:21.1 middle fractions, and turning back all challengers as he came home to a 1-1/2-length victory over Boxer Seelster (Trevor Henry). Out Of Ice (Jody Jamieson) finished third.

Bruno No No No ($12.60) took his first win since his seasonal debut, raising his career totals to four wins and $74,060 in earnings in 20 starts. The mile lowered his lifetime mark by three seconds. Gabby Sasso trains the colt, a son of All Bets Off-Winbak Alice, for Jeff Courchesne of Cambridge, Ont., Martwest Racing Stable of Mississauga, Ont., and Tony Aarts of Putnam, Ont.

Recently-crowned Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots champion Simply The Best won the $22,000 Pop-Up Series second leg for sophomore filly pacers. After leaving sharply from post eight, J.R. Plante briefly tucked her in third nearing the quarter in :26.3 before ordering a brush to the lead before the half in :56. Cold Creek Fuego (Bob McClure) brought a first-over challenge to three-quarters in 1:24.4, but Simply The Best held her off all the way to the wire to win by a length in 1:52. Macapelo Seelster (Tyler Borth) was third.

Simply The Best ($6.90) was coming off a place finish in her Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final, which came two weeks after her Grassroots championship. The daughter of All Bets Off-Sauble Claire bolstered her record to 11-for-26 and upped her bankroll to $182,216. She is trained by Eric Nadeau for Aurel Harvey Et Fils Inc. of Riviere-Malbaie, Que.

The Pop-Up Series are for Ontario-sired three-year-old pacers that are non-winners of $100,000 this year as of Oct. 1, with starters for a tag of $50,000 also eligible.

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

(Standardbred Canada)