Southwind Madonna and driver Lyle MacArthur pulled off a 9-1 shocker in the inaugural edition of the $189,000 Forest City Pace for older pacing mares Saturday night
at Western Fair Raceway. In Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots action, driver Jason Brewer scored a double with My Gift To You and Lexis Star.
With the inside advantage in the featured Forest City Pace, A And Gs Confusion (Kevin Wallis) established herself as the early leader while Southwind Madonna tucked in behind from the next spot over. She fired off a :26.4 opening quarter with Keystone Mystique (Trevor Henry) rolling up alongside, but that mare eventually settled back into fifth.
From there, race favourite To Helen Back (Mike Saftic) moved up for the challenge from fourth. She applied heavy pressure at the :56.2 half-mile mark and was able to move out in front as the field rolled past three-quarters in 1:24.4.
At that point, Southwind Madonna had angled out from third and was following in behind To Helen Back. The six-year-old daughter of Camluck-My Mystic then charged home to triumph in 1:55.1.
43-1 longshot Ladycino (Robert Shepherd) closed well to finish a half-length behind in second with To Helen Back right there for third.
Carl MacArthur trains and owns the winner of two races in 12 outings this year and $115,300 with the Talacadac Stable of Caledon East, Ont. Southwind Madonna, a 2008 finalist for the Older Pacing Mare of the Year O'Brien Award, has recorded 23 victories lifetime and sports a bankroll totalling $920,171.
Also featured on Saturday's program were five $24,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots divisions for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings. Jason Brewer scored a Grassroots double piloting My Gift To You and Lexis Star to victory in the first two splits.
In the opening race of the evening, Brewer and My Gift To You led the field from start to finish, posting fractions of :29.2, 1:00.3, and 1:29.3 on their way to a 1:58.3 score. Tommy Tiger (Kevin Wallis) was one and one-quarter lengths back in second, with Allamerican Extra (Trevor Henry) three lengths to the rear in third.
Brewer engineered the victory for trainer Jeff Gillis and owner Mark Ford of Slate Hill, New York. Through 35 starts this season My Gift To You has accumulated 12 wins, seven seconds and six thirds for earnings of $195,132. The colt heads into the October 25 Grassroots Semifinal at Rideau Carleton Raceway tied for fifth in the standings with 150 points and a perfect record of three wins in three Grassroots starts.
Puslinch resident Brewer made his second appearance in the London winner’s circle following a similar tour around the half-mile oval. Lexis Star logged a :28.1 opening quarter, a :58.4 half, and a 1:27.3 three-quarters before reaching the wire one and a half lengths ahead of his peers in 1:57.1. Fan favourite Go West Lucky Cam (Brad Forward) held off Enlightened Cam (Mike Saftic) to finish second.
Saturday’s victory was the seventh this season for Lexis Star, who is trained by Campbellville resident Fred Hoffman for his partners Stephen Malach of North York, and William Cripps of Acton, Ont. The D M Dilinger son moved into seventh spot in the division standings with the win, heading to Ottawa with a total of 138 points from two wins, one second, one fourth and one fifth in six Grassroots starts.
The third division followed the pattern established in the first two, with driver Kevin Wallis putting Shortstacked on the front with a :27.4 opening quarter and then cruising to a :58.3 half and a 1:27.3 three-quarters before claiming the 1:56 victory. Division point leader Alexie Mattosie (Jason Brewer) overcame early interference to finish second, with The Ladies Man (Mike Saftic) in third.
Ron O’Neill trains Shortstacked for Ervin Miller Stable Inc. of Springfield, Omer Miller of Humboldt, and Nelson Herschberger of Tuscola, Illinois. Through 14 starts this season the Astreos colt has three wins, three seconds and two thirds for earnings of $58,490. Shortstacked finished the regular season in fourth with 154 points.
The only colt to deviate from the front-end model was Blended Whiskey, who clocked the sharpest time of the five Grassroots divisions. Starting from Post 4, driver Robert Shepherd dropped Blended Whiskey onto the rail in fourth as Montanez (Trevor Henry) claimed the front end with a :28.1 opening quarter. As Montanez led the field to the :58.2 half, Shepherd sent Blended Whiskey to the outside, where they followed Layton Seelster (Brad Forward) to the 1:27.2 three-quarters before swooping out three-wide and sprinting down the stretch to a 1:55.4 victory. Pacesetter Montanez finished three and three-quarter lengths to the rear and Layton Seelster rounded out the top three.
Rambaran son Blended Whiskey has earned seven wins, four seconds and two thirds this season for trainer Travis Umphrey and owner Terry Hamilton of Lethbridge, Alta. The gelding finished in a three-way tie for eighth in the standings with 125 points.
Ninth race winner Great Luck will have to cross his fingers that a couple of colts ahead of him in the standings opt out of the Grassroots Semifinal, as the pacers leap up from forty-fifth in the standings landed him just shy of the top 16 in twentieth spot.
Doug McNair engineered the effortless front end victory for Great Luck, sailing through fractions of :27.1, :58.3 and 1:29.3 before reaching the wire two and three-quarter lengths the best in 1:58.2. Stand By Cam (Kevin Wallis) was second and Roberto (Lyle MacArthur) closed well to be third.
Granton resident Don Beatson trains and shares ownership on Great Luck with Kenneth Beatson of Toronto and Sandra and Ralph Pitt of Cargill, Ont. Saturday’s win was the E Dees Cam son’s second of the season through 20 starts and boosted his earnings to $46,089.
The top 16 point earners from the six regular season events will now rest up for their October 25 Grassroots Semifinal. The top four finishers from each Semifinal will advance to the $100,000 Grassroots Championship at Rideau Carleton Raceway on Sunday, November 1.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click here.
(With files from OSS)