With 3-5 favourite Hp Royal Theo losing stride around the first turn, Port Perry tried to walk away with the $225,000 Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Super Final for two-year-old trotting colts but could not withstand the first-over advance of Moon Bridge on Saturday, Oct. 12 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Past the first quarter in :27.3, Port Perry pocketed Major Bay to the backside with Crossfit Mouse racing third and Moon Bridge fourth. Driver Dexter Dunn soon tipped Moon Bridge from the pylons approaching a :57.1 half and edged towards Port Perry rounding the final turn.
Port Perry remained in front past three-quarters in 1:26.1 but his lead gradually diminished. Dunn kept Moon Bridge to task as the Ake Svanstedt-trained son of E L Titan bore inside through the line while narrowing on Port Perry. Moon Bridge eventually got a nose better than Port Perry in the final strides to stop the clock in 1:55.4. Blue Cupertino took third.
“I do remember qualifying him at Meadowlands and I really, really liked him,” Dunn, winning his third Super Final on the night, said after the race. “I remember jumping off and saying to Andy McCarthy ‘I just drove a really nice colt for Ake and Sarah’ and he said ‘You might be going to Canada for that one’ and I finally hooked back up with him. The good thing when you drive for Ake and Sarah is that when they tell you they’re ready they are. Sarah said he hadn’t been the healthiest over the past time but he’s good now and warmed up great.”
Collecting his second victory from six starts, Moon Bridge has earned $191,450 for owners Esa Lahtinen, Janne Korpi and Jussi Hietalahti. He paid $12.60 to win.