The top contenders in the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots program converged at Western Fair Raceway in London, Ont. for an action packed night of harness racing on Saturday featuring eight $100,000 Championships. Recaps and replays of the action can be found right here
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With more than $850,000 in purses offered on the 13-race card, Saturday’s program was the richest in the history of the London, Ont. half-mile track.
Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Championship – Two-Year-Old Filly Trot
Two-year-old trotting filly Magic Wheel kicked off the OSS Grassroots Championship night with a victory over the popular Some Like It Hot.
Driven by Karen Hudon, Magic Wheel sat fourth through an opening quarter of :29.2 before brushing to command ahead of 4-5 favourite Some Like It Hot (Lyle MacArthur). Magic Wheel hit the half in 1:00.1 and then proceeded to three-quarters in 1:30.2. At that point, Some Like It Hot pulled the pocket and the top two took off from the rest of the field in a match race. Digging in on the inside, Magic Wheel was able to hold off Some Like It Hot for the one length victory in 2:01.3 over a "good" track. Wild Logic (Scott Zeron) finished seven and a half lengths behind in third.
“Honestly I thought Lyle had me,” said Hudon in the winner’s circle. “He drove his filly with great strategy and I was planning to leave behind him but my filly just didn’t trot that good at the start and I almost lost her so I thought it's better to get a cheque than to run. So as it turned out I was able to clear him at the half and I knew she’d be tough and she made us work right to the wire.”
Magic Wheel paid $4.90 to win as the 7-5 second choice. Hudon shares ownership of the Kadabra-Ws Balanced Wheel filly with Margaret Payne of St. Augustine, Florida while Joe Hudon, Jr. handles the training duties. Magic Wheel now sports a record of 4-2-1 in nine outings and boasts $103,880 in earnings.
Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Championship – Two-Year-Old Filly Pace
Larry Pollard’s homebred freshman pacing filly Camille delivered on her pari-mutuel promise and earned her fourth straight win in the next OSS Grassroots Championship.
Montenegro (Scott Zeron) was the first to fire from Post 5 but Modern Best (Doug McNair) pulled the pocket early on and took over at the first quarter in :28. She showed the way to the half in :58.1 before Camille, who got away fourth, surged to command en route to three-quarters in 1:27.2 and kicked home for the 1:57 score. Trusting (Jody Jamieson) finished two lengths behind in second with Epoxy Queen (Randy Waples) right there in third.
“She’s been a perfect little angel from the start -- never did a thing wrong,” noted trainer Rod Duford after the win.
Camille paid $3.30 to win. She has put together a record of 4-1-2 in 11 starts and has banked $96,580 this season. The daughter of Camluck-Art Of Design is a full sister to O’Brien Award winner Chancey Lady.
Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Championship – Two-Year-Old Colt Trot
Two-year-old trotting colt Tamarind rallied from off the pace to pull off a mild upset in his OSS Grassroots Championship with Randy Waples in the bike for the first time.
Starlitestarbrite (Trevor Henry) jumped out to an early two-length lead and cruised past opening stations of :29.1 and 1:00.1 before a pocket-pulling Chuckalo Caden took over at three-quarters in 1:30.3 with the favourite, Assignment (Ted Jacobs), and Tamarind moving up within reach. Tamarind out-sprinted his rivals with a :29.4 final quarter and hit the wire in a career-best 2:01.1 for the 7-1 upset. Chuckalo Caden finished one length behind in second and Assignment was third.
"He raced great. It set up for him, there was a lot of action in the race," said Waples in the winner's circle. "Shawn [assistant trainer Shawn Steacy], he just told me to try and give him a clean trip, and maybe not try to mix it up too much with the horses up front because he's got a really good brush and if I save it then he shows that -- he went three-wide around the last turn. Those were two good horses in front of me. I've got a lot of respect for them both and he went by them, so that's just the mark of a good horse."
Tamarind paid $15.90 to win. Mark Steacy trains the son of Angus Hall-Spicegirl Kosmos for the Landmark Iii Racing Stable of Elginbur, David Reid of Glenburnie and Stan Klemencic of Trenton, Ont. The win was Tamarind’s fourth in nine starts and helped boost his bankroll to $85,310.
Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Championship – Three-Year-Old Filly Pace
Randy Waples worked out another winning trip in the OSS Grassroots Championships, this time aboard the popular three-year-old pacing filly Putnam MacKenzie.
Leaving from the rail, Modern Beauty (Doug McNair) took control and posted a :27.4 opening quarter. Mc Taylor (Randy Fritz) pulled the pocket during the second interval but settled back along the pylons when Modern Beauty refused to give way.
Modern Beauty sustained her lead to the half in :57.2 but then 9-5 favourite Putnam MacKenzie and driver Randy Waples swept three-wide down the backstretch and took the lead at three-quarters in 1:26.2. She then opened up three lengths in the stretch to secure the 1:55.3 victory. Modern Beauty finished second and Lucky Jeans (Mike Saftic) was third.
“She’s been good to us all year,” noted David Menary, who trains the daughter of Grinfromeartoear-Royas Bambi for the Putnam Training Centre Ltd. of Mossley and Jamie Bardoel of London, Ont.
“She’s beat older mares already this year and she can get around any size track. We skipped the last Grassroots so we’ll give her a shot in the last Gold at Woodbine even though she can’t go to the Super Final. She’s still in good shape and very fresh because we’ve raced her easy all year but I think we’ll give her a little bit of a breather after that and then bring her back.”
Putnam MacKenzie notched her ninth win in 23 starts this year and pushed her earnings to $171,751.
Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Championship – Three-Year-Old Filly Trot
Three-year-old trotting filly Bertos Angel forged to the front at the opening quarter and held off Keystone Ballerina to end her OSS Grassroots season in style.
A parked out Bertos Angel and driver Scott Zeron cleared the lead at the :27.2 opening quarter and carved out middle fractions of :57.3 and 1:27.4 while her rivals were growing antsy in the backfield. Keystone Ballerina (Jody Jamieson) shot three-deep down the backstretch and charged Bertos Angel in the stretch, but the leading daughter of Ken Warkentin-Spark Of Abbey held on for the 2:00.1 score by a half-length. Isthatallyagot (Anthony MacDonald) was third.
“That wasn’t the type of trip I really wanted to give her with those fractions but she put a good effort in and fought right to the wire,” said Zeron in the winner’s circle.
“My dad [Rick Zeron, who previously drove Bertos Angel] just said to keep her attention and keep her going. She’s good gaited so I didn't really have to worry about her making a break.”
Bertos Angel paid $4.30 to win as the fan favourite. She has compiled a record reading 5-3-1 in 16 starts this year while earning $112,000 for trainer Rob Fellows and owners John Wagner of Fairfax and Scott Woogen of Mechanicsville, Virginia.
Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Championship – Three-Year-Old Colt Trot
Three-year-old trotting colt Watkins rallied off second over cover to provide trainer and co-owner Dr. Peter Johnston with an emotional win in the next OSS Grassroots Championship.
Lexis D J (Scott Zeron) set the tempo with fractions of :29, :59.2 and 1:28.3 but was overtaken by Boogie Woogie (Keith Oliver) in the stretch. Boogie Woogie, however, couldn’t keep it together and made a costly break leaving Watkins and driver Mike Saftic, who rallied three-wide off cover, to take all the glory in 1:59. Fuel Cell (Anthony MacDonald) and Northern Spark (Scott Coulter) finished second in a dead-heat and Lexis D J inherited fourth after Boogie Woogie was fourth placed fifth for a lapped on break at the finish.
The victory was a meaningful one for Dr. Johnston as his wife, longtime owner Judie Johnston, recently passed away.
“He [Dr. Johnston] was emotional in the winner’s circle and he should have been,” noted Saftic. “It was a nice win for him.”
Watkins paid $13.60 to win as the 5-1 fourth choice. The homebred son of Striking Sahbra-Sarong Hall, who sports a sophomore record reading 8-2-2 in 12 outings and a bankroll totaling $126,290, is owned by Idylwood Stables Inc. of Peterborough and Watkins Equine Inc. of Newcastle, Ont.
Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Championship – Two-Year-Old Colt Pace
Just Asign To Me capped off a perfect OSS Grassroots season with a victory in the Championship for two-year-old pacing colts.
Mach Wheel (Joe Hudon Jr.) was first to fire but gave way to a parked out Adventure Bound (Randy Waples) at the opening quarter in :27.1. His lead was short lived though as Just Asign To Me switched into attack mode from the fourth position and seized control in front of the grandstand at the :56.1 half-mile mark. Just Asign To Me and driver Trevor Henry hit the next marker in 1:25.2 and drew away by four lengths to score in 1:56.3. Facebook (Doug McNair) closed well for second from the back of the pack and Hi Sir (Jody Jamieson) finished third after making a three-wide move around a rough gaited Lucky Encounter (Mike Saftic) in the backstretch.
“I think Trevor is one of the best,” said Bruce Gilkinson, who trains and owns the Geartogear-Justasign Hanover colt as part of the Cat Sass Stable of Listowel, Ont. “We’ve known him for years, we grew up with him, he’s the same age as us, and he’s just so great. He plugs it out at these small tracks. I think he’s one of the best drivers out there and we’re so glad he stayed with us.”
Gilkinson purchased Just Asign To Me sight unseen off the internet. The colt is now eight-for-10 on the year (all eight wins in OSS action) with $140,780 earned.
“It's just one of those things, when an opportunity knocks you open the door and we did. We took a big chance and here we are today. This is pretty amazing. It takes a village to do all this and I’ve got to thank everyone out there; all our girlfriends who have been supportive, our family, our great blacksmith Gaetan Hebert, our vets, everybody. It’s been amazing.”
Just Asign To Me paid $2.40 to win as the heavy favourite.
Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Championship – Three-Year-Old Colt Pace
Sophomore pacing colt Ise The By Boy and driver Scott Zeron wrapped up the 2010 OSS Grassroots program with an off the pace victory in the final Championship of the night.
What The Sheik (Doug McNair) took control right off the gate, dropping down at the pylons before the first turn while favourite Good Bad Lucky (Jody Jamieson) chased him to the opening quarter in :26.4. Good Bad Lucky cleared the lead past the opening marker and proceeded to the half in :55.1 and three-quarters in 1:24.1 with This Is Wyatt (Joe Hudon Jr.) advancing first up, followed by Ise The By Boy. Zeron sent his charge three-wide into the stretch and the Mach Three-Prince Lee Fiesta chased down Good Bad Lucky, getting up in the final strides for the career-best 1:54.1 triumph. This Is Wyatt was third.
When asked about his early success, 21-year-old Scott Zeron said, “We [Zeron and fellow reinsman Doug McNair] have just had some great people that support us and get behind us and give us these types of drives to get us in the winner’s circle.
“What motivates me is that right now I’m on the top for the most wins this year [in Canada] so when you’re on the front you don’t want to look behind you, you just want to keep on going so that’s what drives me.”
Ise The By Boy paid $12.80 to win as the 5-1 fourth choice. The Murray Brethour pupil is owned by Kevin Isaac of Bridgenorth, Steve Boyce of Peterborough, Jack Pearson of Bewdley and Wayne Kilner of Peterborough, Ont. Unraced at two, Ise The By Boy picked up his fifth win in 21 starts and pushed his bankroll to $98,812.
Saturday’s program also featured eliminations for the second annual Forest City Pace, a distaff companion event for the Molson Pace, and the opening leg of the Middlesex County Trotting Series for fillies and mares. For recaps of those events, click here.
To view Saturday's results, click here.