Heavy favourite, Shacked Up, took command of a field of top sophomore pacing fillies tonight at Woodbine Racetrack and would not be denied a $130,000 victory in her Ontario Sires Stakes Gold final
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With her powerhouse stablemate Yellow Diamond having been scratched, Shacked Up (Luc Ouellette) went off at odds of 1-5, and struck the front in the second panel, overtaking early leader Coming Late (Mario Baillargeon), another of the four fillies sent out by conditioner Tracy Brainard and owners Bulletproof Enterprises.
Topaz Seelster (Phil Hudon) clawed her way up to challenge the leaders in the early stretch but could only come to Coming Late’s wheels, while Shacked Up sprinted away from her rivals to stop the timers in 1:55 on a sloppy track.
My Red High Heels (Randy Waples) made a late rush to grab second by two lengths, while another Brainard pupil, Kabbalah Karen B (Sylvain Filion) was third and Coming Late hung on for fourth.
Shacked Up increased her bankroll to $775,495 with tonight’s effort, her seventh win in 15 starts this year. The daughter of Western Terror-Sapphire Dawn came into tonight’s race leading the OSS Gold standings for her division, with 206 points and $190,000 earned.
The fillies will now enjoy a five week hiatus from Ontario Sires Stakes action, with the top 10 point earners returning to Woodbine on November 14 for their $300,000 Super Final.
With A And Gs Confusion scratched sick in the Fillies & Mares Open Pace, a compact field of five lined up behind the gate for this week’s $44,000 event.
Arts Diva (Mike Saftic) shot to an early three length advantage from Post 5 and reached the opening quarter in a spiffy :26.1. As she took a second quarter breather, the field tightened up en route to the halfway point in :55.
From there, favourite Quail Seelster (Luc Ouellette) attempted a first-over bid from fifth, but once the field passed three-quarters in 1:23.3 and straightened up down the lane, 7-1 Crystal Chris and Mario Baillargeon swung wide and rallied home in :27.4 to prevail by three-quarters of a length over the pacesetter in 1:52.2.
Miss Scarlett (Rick Zeron) finished third off a pocket trip.
Ned Simmons owns and trains the five-year-old daughter of Dragon Again-Taylor Q, who has won nine times in 23 starts this season earnings $174,485. Lifetime, Crystal Chris has accomplished victory 21 times and now boasts a bankroll totaling $342,190.
To view Friday’s harness racing results, click here.
(With files from WEG)