Eight Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series Super Finals are set to be contested on Saturday (Oct. 10) at Woodbine Mohawk Park – half of which will feature representatives from trainer Meg Crone.
The Cambridge, Ont.-based conditioner, who is firmly on pace to set a personal best for seasonal earnings, will send out a total of four starters, one in each of races two through five.
Between the quartet of Verily, Tuff Gong, Lo And Behold, and recent addition Meetmeonthebeach, Crone has plenty to be proud of ahead of the grand occasion.
“It’s been really exciting,” she said. “With Verily, we couldn’t have asked for anything more than what she’s done. We’re very happy with her.
“Tuff Gong, we trained him and Verily down together, and you couldn’t pick one that was better than the other. He, too, was great-gaited, and had a good attitude training down.
“Lo And Behold, we know she has the ability. She really likes the cooler weather, so we expect her to be a bit better – she usually is at the end of the season.
“Meetmeonthebeach, who we got a little later in the year, we’re really happy with. He seems to be improving each week. We really like the colt and expect big things out of him at three.”
Getting all four into their respective Super Finals turned out to be quite the feat, especially with Meetmeonthebeach making his first start for Crone on Sept. 5.
Perhaps most impressive is that each horse took a different path to reach this point.
Verily, billed as the 7-5 morning line favourite in the Super Final for two-year-old trotting fillies (race three), was an instant hit.
“From day one, she’s had a great attitude; very smart, great-gaited,” Crone said. “There’s never anything you could criticize about her. She’s done everything right from the beginning. You usually don’t have too many like that, but I don’t think we’ve ever had a hiccup with her.”
A freshman daughter of Muscle Mass-Yen, Verily has competed in the OSS Gold ranks five times this season, collecting three victories and a second.
The Grade 1 Peaceful Way runner-up was last seen rewriting the stakes record for two-year-old trotting fillies, previously shared by four fillies, with a 1:53 triumph in the first of two Gold Series events for the division on Oct. 2 at Mohawk.
No matter the stage, Verily has exuded class and confidence, two traits that Crone expects will serve her well, as she enters the Super Final in top form.
“She’s very professional,” said Crone. “She has been from her qualifiers, and when you have a trotting filly and they’re well-mannered and professional, that’s a big part of it.
“Plus, Louis [driver Louis-Philippe Roy] has done a great job with her from day one. She’s never had a tough race. He’s always tripped her out or she’s always got a good trip in, which we like. Leading up to this time, you like that to end your season.”
Verily’s training partner, Tuff Gong, will lead Crone’s contingent into battle on Saturday night, slotting into post two for the two-year-old trotting colt Super Final (race two).
The son of King Of The North-Allisonann Hanover flashed plenty of promise out of the gate, but as Crone explains, luck has often eluded him since.
“The minute he got qualifying at Mohawk, he came a quarter in :26.4, and we thought, ‘Oh God, we’ve really got a good one,’ which we still think we do,” she said.
“Then, he was trotting a little differently at Mohawk, so we had to change a few things on him, including his shoeing, and then he got a little sore, so we had to back off.
“We love the colt, but nothing has gone right for him this year.”
If ever there was a time for the pendulum to swing in Tuff Gong’s favour, his division’s $350,000 Super Final would surely be a welcome setting.
But all Crone asks is that Tuff Gong bring his usual no-quit attitude.
“I would like him to finish a little stronger because he’s one that’s always had wicked trot at the end of the mile. He’s always closing up strong.”
Newcomer Meetmeonthebeach takes the torch from his stablemates in race four, the Super Final for two-year-old pacing colts and geldings.
“He’s a bit green, but he gets a bit stronger every time he races,” said Crone.
The rookie Cattlewash colt is out of the Shadow Play mare Rendezvous, who made 10 starts for Crone in 2021. He turned in an admirable effort in his most recent Gold Series start on Oct. 3 at Mohawk.
“We were really happy with him,” said Crone. “He paced in 1.49.3, :26.3 [final quarter] and the back half in :53.1. You don’t think a two-year-old is going to finish fifth coming with fractions like that, but we’re very happy with him.
“He was pacing the hardest at the wire, and that’s what you always like to see.”
The “big, growthy colt” broke his maiden in just his second start under Crone’s tutelage, a conditioned pace for two-year-old colts and geldings on Sept. 17 at Mohawk.
While Meetmeonthebeach and driver Travis Cullen face a tall task from post nine, Crone has full faith in the pair making a strong push.
“It’s hard being out of the nine hole, but I’m sure Travis will figure something out,” Crone said. “I would’ve loved for him to draw a little better, but I expect him to close up and have good pace on the end.”
Rounding out Crone’s quartet of Super Final competitors is Lo And Behold, who will occupy post nine in the showdown for three-year-old trotting fillies (race five).
The bay daughter of Green Manalishi S-Beholder is both the veteran and the wildcard of the bunch.
“She’s one that you never know what to expect,” said Crone. “If they go good fractions, she usually has a good trot on the end of it. She can do anything you really want – she can leave, come from behind – it’s if she wants to do it or not.”
The sophomore with 21 starts under her belt has compiled a symmetrical 3-3-3 line, with the majority of her success coming this season (2-2-2 from 14 starts).
As Crone noted earlier, Lo And Behold is “a different kind of horse” in milder weather, and with temperatures expected to hover around 13 degrees Celsius at post time (8:15 p.m.), the bay can anticipate a favourable forecast.
Lo And Behold also has valuable Super Final experience, having competed in last year’s edition as a two-year-old and finishing fifth.
“She raced tremendous,” said Crone. “She had the 10 hole, and was parked a mile, and still delivered the second-quickest last quarter of the race [:28.1] and just got beat a couple lengths.”
A repeat of last year’s effort, with a smidge more luck, would be more than enough for Crone.
“It’s a very tough group of fillies, so as long as she races well, I’m happy.”
With more than $955,000 in total purse earnings on her 2026 ledger, Crone finds herself within $155,000 of her previous single-season high water mark, set in 2024 at $1,109,904.
While cementing her career-best campaign with cheques from each of her Super Final starters would be the ideal outcome, Crone will instead measure success by how her horses compete, not what they earn.
“It’s just nice to have four that made the final, and three of them we’ve had since they were babies, so that makes it a little more special. They’re all competitive, and I really just want them to race well. You can’t ask for any more than that.”
Ontario Sires Stakes Super Finals by the numbers
A quick look at this Saturday’s (Oct. 10) Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Super Finals at Woodbine Mohawk Park by the numbers.
- Eight races
- 77 horses, plus seven Also Eligibles
- $2.8 million in purses, $350,000 per Super Final
- 34 trainers with Super Final starters, led by Kyle Fellows with eight starters, Anthony Beaton with seven, Gregg McNair with six, Dr. Ian Moore with five and Meg Crone with four
- Eighth Johnston Cup OSS training title locked up by Gregg McNair
- 12 Super Final wins by trainer Bob McIntosh, five more than Ben Baillargeon and Gregg McNair, who led the 2026 trainers
- 19 drivers with Super Final mounts, with James MacDonald, Mark MacDonald, Doug McNair, and Louis-Philippe Roy driving in all eight finals
- Fourth Lampman Cup OSS driving title secured by James MacDonald
- 19 Super Final wins by a driver, Sylvain Filion, one more than Paul MacDonell and six more than Chris Christoforou, who leads the 2026 drivers
- Nine pacing sires, led by Cattlewash with 17 starters
- Eight trotting sires, led by Muscle Mass with 17 starters
- 134 unique owners, led by Brad Grant and Yolanda Fellows with 7 starters each
- 79 unique breeders, led by Tara Hills Stud with eight starters, Winbak Farms with six and Glenn Bechtel with five
- $2,111,094 total yearling sale purchase price for the pacing starters, for an average of $78,189. Top seller, two-year-old pacing filly We Want It All (Bulldog Hanover-Beach Gal) at $277,778. Biggest bargain, three-year-old pacing filly Artistic Delight (Bettors Delight-Artistic Madison) at $12,162
- $2,024,866 total yearling sale purchase price for the trotting starters, for an average of $77,879. Top seller, two-year-old trotting gelding Manking (King Of The North-Glide By) at $180,556. Biggest bargains, three-year-old trotting colt/geldings Strobe Lite (Alarm Detector-Shine Bright) and Thor B Good (My MVP-Charming Julieann) at $16,000
- $4,993,236 in total earnings this season by the 38 trotting starters, for an average of $131,401
- $6,817,772 in total 2026 earnings by the 39 pacing starters, for an average of $174,815
- Nine Graded Stakes wins by the pacing starters
- Two Graded Stakes wins by the trotting starters
- Three Grassroots champions drawing into Super Finals — two-year-old trotting gelding Graceful King, three-year-old pacing filly Cant Turn You Down and three-year-old pacing colt Odds On Bullfrog
What does all this add up to? One not-to-be-missed night of racing at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday. First-race post time at Mohawk is 6:30 p.m. To view Saturday's complete harness racing entries, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(With files from Ontario Racing)