Trevor Henry returned to his former stomping grounds at Grand River Raceway on Monday night and reminded fans just how efficient he can be on a half-mile racetrack.

The Arthur, ON resident guided five of his nine mounts to victory, including wins in three of four $105,000 Gold Series divisions. Both the two-year-old pacing colts and pacing fillies were in Elora for their fourth Gold Leg, and Henry swept the filly divisions and captured one colt contest.

Pacing colt Big Bad Bill gave the reinsman his first stakes win of the evening with a convincing gate-to-wire score in 1:55.1. Starting from Post 3, Henry rolled Big Bad Bill through a :27.4 quarter, :57 half and 1:25.3 three-quarters on the way to the one and three-quarter length victory over Machin A Trick and Classic Pro.

“He’s a horse, he got real sick and he’s just come around. He was off three weeks and he win (Aug. 30) and then last week (Sept. 6) he got locked in; he was running over them at the wire. He’s just getting better and better,” said Henry. “I thought if he could get around the half he’d have a real good shot.”

Henry steers Big Bad Bill for trainer Gerald Lilley of Dutton and his co-owners, the colt’s breeders Bill Manes of Rockwood and William Cripps of Acton, ON. The victory was the Badlands Hanover son’s first in Ontario Sires Stakes action, which boosted his record to two wins and two thirds in eight starts and almost tripled his earnings to $85,980.

Henry also employed a front-end strategy with fan favourite Windy Sport in the first pacing filly Gold division. Starting from Post 1 the pair rang up a :27.1 quarter, :56.2 half and 1:24.4 three-quarters on their way to the 1:55.2 victory. Sir Native finished one and one-half lengths back in second and Battle of the Belles champion Bid Writer was third.

“She’s a nice filly. She has a bit of an attitude, she’s hard to handle at some times, but she has some quick speed,” said Henry. “She’s a small filly, I knew she’d handle the half pretty good. She win pretty handy.”

Cambridge resident Casie Coleman conditions Windy Sport for her partners in the West Wins Stable of Cambridge and Steve Calhoun of Chatham, ON.

Monday’s win was the Sportswriter daughter’s second lifetime and her first in Ontario Sires Stakes action. In eight starts she has now posted two wins and three seconds for earnings of $115,041, well in excess of the $40,000 US her owners spent acquiring her from the 2015 Harrisburg Yearling Sale.

Two races later Henry was back in the winner’s circle with pacing filly Aint Three OK, who delivered a gritty first over effort to secure her first Gold Series victory.

After getting away third from Post 2 and watching fan favourite Fade lead the field to a :27.4 quarter, Henry sent the filly up the outside heading for the :57.4 half. Fade and driver Jonathan Drury refused to yield, but Aint Three OK continued to press the pace through the 1:26.2 three-quarters, eventually wearing down the pacesetter.

A solid finishing kick propelled Aint Three OK to the 1:55.3 victory, two and one-quarter lengths ahead of Future Headlines and Southwind Ion.

“She’s a really good filly. She should have won the Battle of the Belles, but of course she was sick that day,” noted Henry, who piloted the filly to a runner-up finish behind Bid Writer in the Aug. 1 Battle of the Belles Final. “She’s a really nice filly. She’s small, but she tries hard.

“I really raced her tonight. Usually I just take her back and let her finish or whatever, but tonight she worked for it,” added the reinsman. “She’s tough, she’s got a lot of heart.”

Mach Three daughter Aint Three OK is trained by Mike Weller for Chuck Grubbs of Louisville, KY. The filly earned her first lifetime victory in her Battle of the Belles Elimination at Grand River Raceway on July 25. Monday’s win improved her record to two wins and three thirds in seven starts for earnings of $137,800.

Henry’s mount in the last pacing colt division made an early break and finished well back of winner Yogi Bayama, who watched his peers play musical chairs through the early going. Southwind General, favourite Happy Trio and Arsenal Seelster each took a turn on the lead, recording fractions of :28, :57.2 and 1:25.3 while Yogi Bayama looked on from third. Turning for home Hall of Fame horseman Yves Filion found Yogi Bayama an open lane and the colt sprinted by Southwind General for a neck victory in 1:55.2. Richard Hill completed the top three.

Stephane Larocque of Carlisle, ON conditions Yogi Bayama for Filion’s Bayama Farms of Saint-Andre-D’Argenteuil, QC and numbered company 9099 3833 Quebec Inc. of Sorel-Tracy, QC. A Grassroots winner at Mohawk Racetrack in the July 7 season opener, the homebred son of Sportswriter and Newmoon Bayama now has one win, one second and one third in his three Gold Series outings. In nine freshman starts Yogi Bayama has tallied three wins, three seconds and two thirds for earnings of $118,860.

Henry bookended his Gold Series successes with wins in the first and last races on the Grand River Raceway program, steering pacing mare Team Leader to a 1:56.1 victory in the first race for trainer Mike Weller and trotting mare Natural Grace to a 2:00.2 win in the last race for owner-trainer Stacey Reinsma.

“It was a big night for me,” Henry acknowledged. “They don’t come very often, but it’s nice when they do.”

The two-year-old pacing colts will wrap up their regular season at Mohawk Racetrack on Oct. 1 while the pacing fillies complete their Gold Series campaign at Mohawk on Oct. 3. Monday’s contest wrapped up Grand River Raceway’s 2016 Ontario Sires Stakes schedule, which saw the Elora oval host 10 Grassroots and Gold Series events.

(OSS)

To view results for Monday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Monday Results – Grand River Raceway.