Doug McNair kept Atlas Ross undefeated with a victory in the Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Gold fourth leg for rookie male pacers while the reinsman racked up his fifth win on the Grand Circuit stakes undercard on Saturday, Sept. 5 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

McNair reached the winner’s circle after four of the Saturday sub-features as he swept the $100,000 Golds for two-year-old pacing males — with horses trained by his father, Gregg — and the $60,000 Opens.

Atlas Ross won his third OSS Gold race and upped his earnings to $192,550 with a 1:51.3 victory that was 1-1/2 lengths better than stablemate Yes I Am Hanover (Bob McClure).

Sent off as the 2-5 favourite in the field of six, Atlas Ross raced fourth to the quarter in :27, then mobilized to the top before the half and rolled through fractions of :56 and 1:25 before finishing strongly for the victory. Yes I Am Hanover rallied to snag second over Cattletracks (Louis-Philippe Roy), the early pacesetter.

Atlas Ross, a Big Jim colt out of Kisskissbangbang, was bred by Ashley and Dean Wilson of Kerwood, Ont. and is owned by James and Elizabeth Ross of Wingham, Ont. He paid $2.80 to win.

In the first division, 14-1 longshot Th Theo defeated 4-5 favourite D A Alljokesaside (Mark MacDonald) by a half-length in a career-best 1:50.4.

D A Alljokesaside was on top heading into the first turn and led the six-horse field through fractions of :26.4, :55.4 and 1:23.2 with Th Theo in close contention. In the stretch, McNair pulled the pocket, and Th Theo grinded past a game D A Alljokesaside to post his second OSS win and first Gold triumph. Th Benedict (James MacDonald) finished third.

“I wasn't really sure until really late [that I would get past D A Alljokesaside],” Doug McNair told WEG broadcaster John Rallis. “He came out of the hole like he was going to win by 10 [lengths], but as soon as he got to him, he kind of hesitated and made me work on him a little bit. But, he’s a nice colt and he’s on the right track, that’s for sure.”

TH Theo now has a record of 2-0-2 in seven career starts and earnings of $86,340. The colt, a son of Cattlewash out of Sports Check, was bred by Tara Hills Stud of Port Perry, Ont. and is owned by Frank Brundle of East Garafraxa, Ont., Mac Nichol of Burlington, Ont. and Jeffrey Skinner of Hammonds Plains, N.S. He paid $30 to win.

“Dad's got a lot of nice colts this year,” Doug McNair said. “But I thought [Th Theo] was the best one training down, or one of the top two for sure. Maybe he made me look a little stupid early, but he is starting to come around.”

Doug McNair piloted longtime regular drive Logan Park to victory in the Open Trot as the eight-year-old son of Archangel-Rite Outa The Park bounced back from a break in his Maple Leaf Trot elimination. McNair hustled the gelding away from post nine but accepted a seat to the quarter in :26.4 as Mr Bluebird (Travis Cullen) forged ahead from the outside and released Osceola (Scott Zeron). Logan Park glided frontward going to the midway point in :55.3, maintained a firm grip on the field to three-quarters in 1:24, and held off odds-on chalk Major Velocity (Trevor Henry) through the stretch for a half-length victory in 1:50.4. Monserrate (Jason Bartlett) was third.

Logan Park, Canada's three-time Older Trotting Horse of the Year, raised his seasonal tally to eight-for-13 for owners Outofthepark Stable of Rockwood, Ont., Reg Higgs of Blenheim, Ont. and Arpad Szabo of Bradford, Ont. Kyle Fellows trains the gelding, who has recorded 52 career victories and $2,512,685 in earnings in 115 starts. He paid $4.90 to win.

Sugar Man, coming off his third-place effort in the Gold Cup and Saucer, shipped to Mohawk for the second time in his career and flew home to capture the Open Pace with McNair at the lines. 

McNair kept the four-year-old stallion out and on a helmet through the first three-quarters of the mile, letting Gold Cup and Saucer winner Fifth And Five (Jody Jamieson) drop in front of him on the rim while seventh to the quarter in :25.2. Sugar Man followed that rival third-over, with the head of the train, Huntinthelastdolar (Jason Bartlett), reaching command before the half in :53.2 and Fusion (James MacDonald) emerging to take the first-over mantle. The outer tier advanced to three-quarters in 1:20.2, and Sugar Man tore off the helmet in the stretch before unleashing a :26.3 closing kick to rocket by rivals and win by three-quarters of a length over Fusion in 1:47.4. Huntinthelastdolar finished third.

Sugar Man, back in the barn of Dave Menary for Saturday's win, is now four-for-14 this season for owner Pollack Racing LLC of Venetia, Pa. The son of Papi Rob Hanover-Sweet As Sugar took his 12th career win while growing his bankroll to $442,635 in 42 outings. A $2 win ticket was worth $8.70.

McNair's first win of the night came in the $40,000 Pop-Up Series final as Jk Black Gold ($4.60) motored home off cover for a 1:49.2 score for Menary. Odds On Valhalla ($23.40) took the $30,000 Pop-Up Series consolation in 1:50.2 with Travis Henry aboard for Carmen Auciello. The series was for pacers that had started for a purse of $13,000 or less in their previous four starts or had earned less than $2,200 per start in 2026, and had not earned more than $50,000 this year.

McNair's five-win haul on the 13-race program brought his seasonal total to 197 from 929 starts. He is second in Canada in earnings this year, with $4,886,656, and second in the Mohawk standings, with 189 wins.

Mothers Moni chased down Strobe Lite from the two-hole to win the $140,000 Grade 3 Simcoe Stakes for three-year-old trotters and lower the sophomore gelding track record for his gait to 1:50.4. The son of International Moni-Mother Teresa blitzed out of the inside post, fending off Captain Nathan (Scott Young) to lead to the quarter in :26.2 before yielding to Strobe Lite (James MacDonald). The four remaining contenders in the five-horse field raced in unchanged order through the half in :54.3 and three-quarters in 1:23.1, with Strobe Lite bringing them home. Mothers Moni tipped out for the drive in the stretch and collared Strobe Lite, cruising clear by 1-1/4 lengths. Touchedbyanangel (Doug McNair) finished third.

The previous record for a three-year-old gelded trotter, 1:51.1, was set by Highland Kismet in his Canadian Trotting Classic elimination in 2024.

Mothers Moni ran his seasonal score to five-for-seven and improved to eight-for-14 lifetime with $295,365 in earnings. Domenico Cecere trains the gelding for owner-breeder K R Breeding LLC of Enfield, Conn. The win price was $4.10.

Waves Of Fortune edged out a nose victory in a thrilling three-filly photo in the lone $150,000 OSS Gold fourth-leg division for two-year-old female pacers. James MacDonald drove the daughter of Bettors Delight-Cozy Beach to the career-best 1:50.3 victory.

Sent off as the 3-5 favourite in the field of 11, Waves Of Fortune was sitting fifth through the early going as Twin B Copacabana (Mark MacDonald) took the group through fractions of :26.4 and :55.2, with both Twin B Mayreau (Louis-Philippe Roy) and Money Carlo (Todd McCarthy) second and third, respectively. James MacDonald pulled Waves Of Fortune around the half-mile marker and picked up Money Carlo’s cover to three-quarters in 1:23.4.

At the top of the stretch, Waves Of Fortune was sitting second-over behind Money Carlo, and the battle was on. Waves Of Fortune came home in :26.2 and stuck her nose in front of Twin B Mayreau, with Money Carlo another nostril hair back in third.

“I was able to work at a pretty good trip, and she just she wants it pretty badly,” James MacDonald told Woodbine broadcaster John Rallis. “It was a dogfight late. I thought Todd won. Todd thought Louis won, and then it ended up [Waves Of Fortune] won. So it was a heck of a horse race.

“We were pacing hard at the top of the stretch, and I was working hard just to stick with them. So, I knew it was going to be tight, and I knew mine would have a little bit left in reserve, and I needed it.”

The win was the fourth in a row for Waves Of Fortune, who is now 4-2-0 in six starts and has earnings of $244,500 for trainer and part-owner Tony Beaton, who shares the filly with his wife Lisa Lefort of Waterdown, Ont., David Mercer of Westmount, N.S. and Teresa Davidson of Milton, Ont. Waves Of Fortune was bred by Southwind Farms LLC of Pennington, N.J. She paid $3.30 to win.

A livestream replay of Saturday's card, which featured the Canadian Pacing Derby, Maple Leaf Trot and Milton Stakes, is available below.

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

(Standardbred Canada & Ontario Racing; photo of Atlas Ross winning on Sept. 5)