The man in blue and gold got his fill of ‘Gold’ during Thursday evening’s card of racing at Mohawk Racetrack.
Randy Waples won with heavily favoured Muscle Hustle in the first of two OSS Gold Series divisions for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings, and then he came back and pulled off an upset with Dia Monde in the second division.
Muscle Hustle brushed to the front past the quarter pole and never looked back en route to a 1:54.1 score in his assignment. The Per Henriksen-trained son of Muscle Mass-Crown Laurel watched Holiday Party slice out an opening panel in :28 before sweeping past that foe and supplying middle splits of :58.1 and 1:26.3. A :27.3 closing quarter earned Muscle Hustle the win by a length over Holiday Party, with Will Take Charge grabbing the show dough.
Ecurie Bergh Inc of Norwood, Ont. owns the colt who improved his 2016 record to 7-2-1 from 12 trips postward. The eight-time winner is closing in on $250,000 in career earnings.
Dia Monde gave Waples the stakes sweep thanks to his 6-1 upset score in the second division. The gelding sat second behind Dunvegan Don through the opening quarter of :27, but he was shuffled back to third when heavily-favoured Bee In Charge took charge in the backstretch. That Per Henriksen pupil whacked out middle splits of :57.1 and 1:26.1, but he couldn’t stave off late pressure from Dia Monde. The Tom Durand pupil fired home in :27.3 to win by 1-3/4 lengths over Tony Soprano in 1:54. Bee In Charge faded to finish third.
Durand and his wife, June, share ownership on the son of Deweycheatumnhowe-Lady Bar with partner Allan Smith of Oakville, Ont. The partners watched the sophomore pick up his third win of the year while boosting his lifetime bankroll to $175,512.
To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results – Mohawk Racetrack.