Woodbine Mohawk Park hosted the eight 2024 Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Super Finals on Saturday, Oct. 12, featuring the brightest stars of the provincial program.
A total of $2.4 million in purses was up for grabs as top trotters and pacers faced off at the Campbellville, Ont. oval. New to the Super Finals this year, winners of the OSS Grassroots finals could enter the Super Finals if that field did not fill.
Here's how the night transpired.
Lil Sweet equals stakes record in Super Final upset
Lil Sweet finished a head short of division leader Monalishi on Sept. 30 in the final Ontario Sires Stakes Gold leg for freshman filly trotters. On Saturday night, however, Doug McNair and the 3-1 second choice turned the tables in deep stretch, surging past the favourite to claim victory in the $300,000 Gold Super Final at Woodbine Mohawk Park. The duo matched Bee A Magician’s stakes record 1:53.4 clocking with the win.
McNair entered the night’s second race, the first of eight Gold Series Super Finals events, riding a hot streak. Friday night he steered six winners on the program, and wasted little time returning to the winner’s circle. The regular pilot for the David Menary-trained filly, he left from Post 6 with Lil Sweet as soon as the gate folded, moving to the front and leading the field through a :27.3 opening panel.
As McNair set the tempo with a geared-down 30-second quarter, James MacDonald pulled on the right line and brushed Monalishi from fourth to the lead, taking command after the half and led the group to three quarters in 1:25.3.
“My filly, when we moved past the quarter she just hesitated a bit on the front. I haven’t raced her on the front all year. I didn’t want to take any chances and have her pull up, I was looking for James, that’s for sure,” McNair explained.
McNair asked his filly in the lane, angling away from the pylons and dashing to the wire to collect her second seasonal score in 10 attempts. Monalishi settled for second, while 63-1 Exquisite Taste, driven by Louis-Philippe Roy, rounded out the triactor. Lil Sweet returned $8.40 to win.
“She drew the rail all season long and I said to Dave if she ever gets in the middle of the gate where we can kind of get her off the gate a little bit and sit her up close, I think she’ll kick home good for us,” said McNair. “We got the right helmet there just past the half or five-eighths, and she did the rest from there.”
Added Menary in the winner’s circle: “I didn’t want to jinx anything, but that’s exactly how I thought it would go. I was hoping that James would come. We chased her pretty hard last week, and we were ready to start chasing her sooner this week.”
Bred by Windsong Stable, Lil Sweet is from the first crop of Green Manalishi S out of the Credit Winner mare Sweetspellosuccess. The freshman sold for $35,000 at Harrisburg, purchased by Eric Good. Fifth in points entering this evening, the victory pushed her seasonal earnings to $249,371.
Menary credited his team for having Lil Sweet primed for a top Super Final performance.
“I have to give my staff a lot of credit. Leanne Silverthorne takes care of her. She does such a great job with her,” he said. “I wasn’t here last week when the filly raced great. I watched the race in Lexington at the sale. It’s a 52-week process to get here. It’s not just this week, it’s the whole year. The staff worked really hard and I want to let everybody know I really appreciate them.”
Chantilly stays flawless in Super Final masterpiece
The magnificent unbeaten Chantilly, with James MacDonald up, trounced nine foes to win the $300,000 OSS Gold Super Final for two-year-old pacing fillies on Saturday at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
The time for her ninth straight win of the season was 1:50.2, matching her speed badge in her first season on the track.
“She goes miles in :50 like training trips,” said MacDonald after the race.
MacDonald eased Chantilly from the gate while Macapelo Seelster (Tyler Borth) got to the top. Wickedpace (Jody Jamieson), Millie May Hanover (Bob McClure) and Wicked N Single (Jonathan Drury) followed in a wicked :26 first quarter.
“I was happy to sit fourth,” MacDonald said after the race. He added that he also had no problem, tipping his filly out and passing the quartet as soon as there was room on the outside.
Chantilly took command heading for the half and was already proving her superiority over the division’s top freshman pacing fillies as she clocked the half in :55.4.
Macapelo Seelster remained leading the others with Wickedpace behind her and Wicked N Single going first over with a rush.
“She’s an unbelievable horse,” said trainer Nick Gallucci as a bit of an understatement as Chantilly continued to increase the lengths between her path and the rest of the field.
Chantilly soared down the stretch five, six and seven lengths in front, cutting three quarters in 1:23.3 and crossing the wire with an eight-length lead. In her previous eight races, no competitor came closer to her winning margin than a single length.
The crowd’s second choice, Wickedpace, hit the wire best of the rest. Macapelo Seelster finished third.
Chantilly is a daughter of Big Jim out of the Bettors Delight filly Shiraz. She paid $2.10 to win as the 1-9 favourite. With the win she has earned $761,000, all of it in Ontario.
“She’s not paid up for the Breeders Crown,” Gallucci said, adding that it was always the plan looking forward to a sophomore season.
“She’ll appreciate the rest,” he added. “She’s the best filly ever that I’ve trained and we’re grateful to have her in our barn.”
Millar Farms bred and owns Chantilly. George Millar, farm owner, said “The Big Jim [colts and fillies] are all great and do well.”
Willys Home Run hits it out of the park again
Willys Home Run covered all the bases in the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series as the 2023 freshman trotting filly champion returned to repeat as a sophomore with an impressive win in Saturday’s $300,000 Gold Super Final at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Sent off as the even-money favourite, Willys Home Run and driver James MacDonald tangoed early for the lead with chief rival R Liza (Jody Jamieson), before both settled behind pacesetter Kinnder Hotblood (Todd Ratchford). Willys Home Run exploded off cover in the stretch to win by three lengths in 1:53.1. It was her 10th career victory and the lion’s share of the championship purse boosts her bankroll to $944,000.
The Archangel daughter is trained by Kyle Fellows for owners Dr. Sara Gatchell, Yolanda Fellows, Jake Higgs and breeder Reg Higgs – many of the same connections of the filly’s older brother Logan Park – a former top Ontario Sires Stakes performer who recently surpassed $1.75 million in career earnings.
“Kyle was really confident in her the last few weeks,” said MacDonald following the race. “And when she has a good trip, she has a wicked motor.”
For co-owner Dr. Gatchell, the win was especially poignant.
“She’s basically the culmination of a promise I made to my father when I was really young. He instilled my love of horse racing, and one day he asked me to buy a racehorse if I ever became a veterinarian and to name it after him.
“That was the goal and as luck would have it, my father-in-law, who has been in this business for decades, gave us the opportunity to own a broodmare and she [Willys Home Run] was the first foal.
“So it was for sure going to be Willys Home Run named after my father, William, who passed away last week from Alzheimer’s. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to ever watch her race. By the time she was a two-year-old he was stricken with very severe dementia," Gatchell continued. "But I think my Dad was up there tonight and I think he was cheering her on and I think he gave her that last push when she blew by everybody. So, Dad, I think this one was your doing.”
You Got It Kemp dominant in Super Finals score
You Got It Kemp has been on a roll since finishing second in his career debut, and Saturday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park the freshman trotter rolled to his fifth straight Ontario Sires Stakes victory in dominating fashion.
Steered by Sylvain Filion, the Muscle Mass-Speed Titan gelding manhandled the competition in the $300,000 Gold Super Final for freshman trotting colts, winning by open lengths in 1:53.4.
Second in points entering the Super Final, You Got It Kemp was unlucky in the draw, assigned Post 9. The outside post was not a factor, though, as Filion pushed to the lead at the start and never looked back. The 6-5 favourite clicked off fractions of :28, :56.4 and 1:25.4 while unchallenged on the lead, a place Filion would prefer not to be with the freshman.
“When I hit the backside and I can feel him slow down a bit, I just yelled at him and he took off. I knew right [there and then] that we were OK,” he commented after the race.
Getthegreen and James MacDonald moved from fourth on the backstretch and ducked in behind the leader as the field turned for home. If the tandem hoped to mount a challenge, You Got It Kemp removed any doubt as to the outcome when he kicked away in the lane. Getthegreen finished a distant second while 42-1 Rising Interest (Tyler Borth) trotted third. The winner paid $4.50.
You Got It Kemp was bred by Kemppi Stables Oy Inc. and Suojalampi Stable Inc. Brady, Brooke and Daniel Lagace share ownership of the bargain $12,000 Harrisburg purchase with Suojalampi Stable Inc., which retained an interest. Daniel Legace trains the gelding.
“It’s been amazing. He’s been a really awesome horse for us. He progresses every week and it’s been really fun to watch,” said Brooke Legace.
The victory was the fifth in six seasonal starts for the freshman. He finished his campaign with $378,167 in earnings and a new lifetime mark. He’ll ship to the Bluegrass to rest and grow in anticipation of next season.
“He always showed good early speed, but he was always a little cheeky like Sylvain said. We never did much training with him, so he’s still learning as he goes and he’s just getting better,” explained Brady Legace. “He’ll be in Kentucky on Monday.”
For Filion, the Super Final victory brought him even with Paul MacDonell for winning drives. Both men have each accumulated a record 18 Super Final tallies in their career.
Odds On Platinum is harness racing's newest millionaire; Milestone win for Filion
Odds On Platinum held a late lead by a nose to win the $300,000 three-year-old filly pace Gold Super Final on Saturday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
The time for the mile was 1:49.4 with Sylvain Filion in the bike.
Filion’s filly was quick to leave the gate but stayed put behind Collusion Hanover (Louis-Philippe Roy) and Lightning Lizzie (Brett MacDonald) in the early going. Odds On Platinum saved ground through the blaze of a first quarter, clocked in :25.4.
Leader Collusion Hanover kept the next two rivals smoking down the backstretch, cutting the half in :54.1. Favourite Its A Love Thing took to the outside and driver James MacDonald had the filly aiming for a big challenge through three-quarters in 1:22.
Filion was sitting on his filly ready to light her burners and when he did, Odds On Platinum fired on the outside to catch a tiring Collusion Hanover while Blazing Belle (Doug McNair) was working her way into the picture.
Into the stretch, Odds On Platinum was on top and protecting a lead threatened by Its A Love Thing. MacDonald was leaning back and pumped as a duel ensued with his filly on the outside.
“I thought she was going to go right by me,” Filion said of the duel, which he and Odds On Platinum won by a nose. Collusion Hanover finished third.
For Odds On Platinum, it was the sixth win of her sophomore season and the eighth of her career. The victory pushed her two seasons of racing over the $1 million mark to earnings of $1,049,374.
Dr. Ian Moore trains Odds On Platinum. She is a daughter of Bettors Delight-American Jewel, owned by Let It Ride Stables and Odds On Racing.
She paid $8.90 to win.
“This might be all for her [at three],” said Moore. “She isn’t going to the Breeders’ Crown,” but he indicated a possible supplementing could change that.
“She was better tonight than at the Jug meet,” said Filion. “Dr. Moore did a great job with her [this season].”
Moore said this was a gratifying win.
“Look at her lines this year,” he said, pointing out her many outside posts. “This is the first time she got a good trip. Its A Love Thing is a tremendous filly. Don’t take anything away from her.”
For Filion, the win lifted him out of the tie with Paul MacDonell for all-time leader in Super Final wins. This was Filion's 19th Super Final title, tops in the program's history.
Crack Shot doubles up on OSS championship victories
Crack Shot has not one but two Ontario Sires Stakes Championship victories to his credit in 2024.
The freshman pacer won Saturday’s $300,000 Gold Super Final at Woodbine Mohawk Park just two weeks after capturing the $75,000 Grassroots Final.
Crack Shot was the first-ever winning beneficiary of a new feature added to the provincial program which stipulated a Grassroots Series champion was entitled to enter the Super Final if the division didn’t fill with Gold Series top point-earners.
In tonight’s effort, he was fourth under cover heading into the stretch, and taken wide to pace home with driver Doug McNair one length the best in 1:51.3 – a new career best for the Bettors Delight son.
Pacesetter Sterling Choice (Louis-Philippe Roy) was the runner-up, while race favourite Allstar Maniac (James MacDonald) was third. Crack Shot paid $7.40 for the win.
Purchased as a yearling for $205,000 at the Lexington Select Sale by trainer Gregg McNair and co-owners Frank Brundle, Dale Hunter and George Kerr, Crack Shot has won five of his eight rookie starts for total earnings of $238,000.
“Dad loved him all year,” Doug McNair said of Crack Shot following the race. “So, all the credit goes to him. He’s a great little horse to drive. I just wanted to keep him out of trouble tonight.”
“I was high on him all winter,” Gregg confirmed. “He was always a fast horse. I didn’t know how he would do with this bunch tonight. He has really come around.”
For co-owner Frank Brundle, the pair of championship wins has been a fun ride in a long relationship with the Gregg McNair Stable that began in 1986.
“To have Crack Shot blossom in the Grassroots Finals and now win the Super Final is amazing, just amazing.”
Paquet vaults to Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Super Final win
Despite some early anxious moments, Paquet overcame a tough trip to live up to his 1-5 billing in Saturday’s $300,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Super Final for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Jody Jamieson floated Paquet forward into midfield as Myretirementdream forged clear from Post 7 through a :13.2 first eighth and Masstercraft attacked from deeper on the track, only to be parked through :28 and :56.3 sectionals. With the outer flow jammed up in front of him, Paquet had no window to brush forward up the backstretch and instead was forced to circle the tiring Masstercraft on the far turn.
“I didn’t want to be three-wide on the last turn after having strangled him the first three-eighths,” said Jamieson, who pushed Paquet second-over on the far turn and swung him three-wide with five-sixteenths to go.
After What About Elmo, who took over on the backstretch, hit three-quarters in 1:25.3, Paquet lifted gradually into the lead off the home turn and drew clear steadily to win by the better part of five lengths in 1:54.3. What About Elmo held second over Myretirementdream.
“This horse was just rude tonight,” Jamieson quipped. “I’m surprised he won — when the gate called us, he was galloping, rooting his head. But he’s so talented, he overcame it. I’m very happy that we won, but we’ve got some work to do. He doesn’t have much experience.”
After not racing as a two-year-old, Paquet has won four of seven races in his sophomore season and banked $315,265 for trainer Carl Jamieson, who shares ownership with the Estate of Brian Paquet, 1140545 Ontario Ltd., and Douglas Good.
The Muscle Mass-Darjeeling colt paid $2.40 to win.
Nijinsky roars back for Super Final redemption
Pepsi North America Cup winner Nijinsky made amends for a disappointing showing in the Little Brown Jug with a 1:50.3 win in Saturday’s $300,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Super Final for three-year-old male pacers at Woodbine Mohawk Park, but he had to prove himself amid an unduly eventful journey.
After Louis-Philippe Roy floated Nijinsky into fourth in pursuit of 69-1 pacesetter Unrivaled Hanover (Jonathan Drury) and then angled him second-over on the backstretch, his cover — Century Komodo — locked on a line from driver Doug McNair and faltered sharply, causing Nijinsky to check and enabling Unrivaled Hanover and Drury to scamper four lengths clear on the far turn after being pushed through a :54 first half.
“I had no choice but to go three-wide on the last turn,” said Roy. “JD’s [Jonathan Drury’s] horse was making open lengths on us, so I had to make him work a little earlier. At first, JD was going good fractions up front, the only way I could have him beat was to put him into a crazy half.”
After getting around Century Komodo, Nijinsky took second with just over a quarter to go, and Unrivaled Hanover, who hit three-quarters in 1:21.2, began to shorten strides off the turn for home. Nijinsky collared him at the eighth pole and was urged to win by a widening 1-1/4 lengths in 1:50.3. Best Night Ever (Trevor Henry) rallied boldly from deep in the field to nab Unrivaled Hanover for runner-up honours.
“I was worried that something was going to happen, but he seemed fine and Louis said he was great,” said trainer Anthony Beaton. “I wish we had a little easier trip, but he raced tremendous. It seems like he’s back, and hopefully we can look forward to the Meadowlands (for the Breeders’ Crown eliminations) next week.”
This season, Nijinsky has won 10 of 12 races and banked over $1.24 million for West Wins Stable, John Fielding and Mark Dumain.
As the 1-4 favourite, he returned $2.50 to win.
WOODBINE MOHAWK PARK FEED
COSA-TV FEED
To view Saturday's results, click the following link: Woodbine Mohawk Park - Saturday Results.
(With files from Ontario Racing)