The 2010 Ontario Sires Stakes season wrapped up on Saturday night at Woodbine Racetrack with eight $300,000 Super Finals. Full recaps and replays of the exciting $2.4 million card are available here
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Oh Sweet Baby kicked off OSS Super Final night with a 1:56.2 triumph in the two-year-old filly trot division.
L A Freeway (Paul MacDonell) worked her way to the top from Post 9 and reached the opening station in :27.4, followed by the half in :58. At that point, driver Mario Baillargeon sent Oh Sweet Baby out from fourth with even-money favourite Peach Martini (Rick Zeron) following her cover.
Oh Sweet Baby went head-to-head with the leader past three-quarters in 1:27.3 and began to edge away down the stretch. The daughter of Angus Hall-Galahads Damsel then held off a quick-closing Peach Martini for the 1:56.2 half-length victory. L A Freeway was third.
"The pace wasn't that fast at the half so I thought I would come out slow," explained Baillargeon in the winner's circle. "I know Ricky was behind me and I thought Ricky's filly was the horse to beat but they are both good fillies. Ricky's filly trotted right to the wire with me."
Oh Sweet Baby's season was full of ups and downs involving some breaking issues and foot issues, but Baillargeon says the filly seems to have overcome those problems and is now living up to expectations.
"I think the big question was about the foot issue," he said. "She got a real bad puss pocket the last couple of months. She just got sound and she's at where we thought she would be all year."
Oh Sweet Baby paid $13.50 as the 5-1 third choice in the field, which was reduced to nine after the scratch of Beach Party As. Ben Baillargeon trains the winner of two races in 11 starts and $243,530, for Richard Berthiaume of Pointe-Aux-Trembles, Que.
Modern Connection concluded her perfect OSS season with a career-best 1:52.1 victory in the Super Final for two-year-old pacing fillies.
Bunkhouse Babe (Jody Jamieson) fired to command from Post 7 and put up a :27.1 first quarter with Stonebridge Damsel (Jack Moiseyev) moving first up from third and pushing ahead at the half in :56.2. Lauren (Steve Condren) followed her cover and quickly became the new leader with Modern Connection and Mark MacDonald hot on her heels. Modern Connection applied pressure to three-quarters in 1:24.2 before taking over in the stretch and holding off Monkey On My Wheel (Rick Zeron) by a neck for the 1:52.1 victory. Shipps Xanadu (Randy Waples) came on for third over Lauren.
"She's a great filly. She's easy to drive," said MacDonald, who began driving the filly in mid-October. "They've done a great job with her. I was just really lucky to pick up a live drive so late in the year and to get on and win a Gold Final and then the Super Final. That's what it's all about right there.
"She's got one real good move and Joe Seekman told me that when I first drove her. He says as long as you're careful with her and don't start her up too early [she'll be good]."
Sent postward as the 3-5 favourite, Modern Connection paid $3.40 to win for the fourth consecutive time. The daughter of Modern Art-Cambest Connection has won seven of her 13 starts this year including a pair of Gold elims and finals. The lion’s share of the purse pushed her earnings to $456,797 for trainer Joe Seekman and owners Yousif Yousif of Chesterfield, Michigan and Ameer Najor of Meadow Lands, Pennsylvania.
Rick Zeron booked off his remaining drives after the third OSS Super Final due to a shoulder injury. Trot Insider has learned that Zeron told the judges his shoulder popped while driving Monkey On My Wheel and was too sore to drive after post parading Tymal Colossus for the following race.
Driven by Jack Moiseyev, Daylon Magician conjured up a Super Final score setting a new OSS record for two-year-old trotting colts with his 1:55.3 effort and giving horseman David Lemon the biggest victory of his career.
Buckhams Bay (Jacques Hebert) and Imperial Count (Steve Condren) stepped off the gate together but it was Imperial Count who won the early tussle at the first quarter in :27.2. However, the parked out Sim Brown (Randy Waples) came charging up to take over and trotted past the half in :56.4 and three-quarters in 1:26.4.
Meanwhile, Buckhams Bay had launched his attack with Attorney Hanover (Luc Ouellette) and Daylon Magician following his cover. Daylon Magician came charging off that cover in the stretch and managed to track down Sim Brown for the one length victory in 1:55.3. Imperial Count (Steve Condren) finished third.
The time of the mile shaved one-fifth of a second off Windsong Espoir's OSS record for two-year-old trotting colts.
"Yep [this is the biggest moment of my career], especially the training part," noted Lemon, who trains, owns and bred the winning colt.
When asked about his breaking issues earlier this season, Lemon joked, "it was mostly the trainer.
"I didn't have things set up right," he said, "so he's set up just about right now."
Daylon Magician paid $12.50 to win as the 5-1 fourth choice. The homebred son of Kadabra-Daylon Marvel notched his third victory in eight attempts and pushed his bankroll to $225,300.
David Menary trainees dominated the two-year-old colt pace Super Final with Prodigal Seelster scoring in 1:51.3 over stablemate Watermelonwine.
Leaving from Post 8, Prodigal Seelster and driver Randy Waples moved up to take the lead from Dr Dew (J.R. Plante) past the :26.1 opening quarter. He proceeded to the half in :54.2 and three-quarters in 1:24 with Some Mach Some Win (Chris Christoforou) in pursuit and Watermelonwine launching off his cover. Prodigal Seelster fought off his stablemate down the stretch to stop the clock in 1:51.3 and record his sixth win in 10 starts. Watermelonewine, with Paul MacDonell subbing in for Zeron, finished two lengths behind with Mach Of Ballykeel (Sylvain Filion) third and the popular Mystician (Jody Jamieson) coming on for fourth.
"I had so much confidence in this horse [after schooling prior to the Super Final]," said Waples, who drove the colt earlier this season and picked up the drive again as regular Tim Tetrick was in Illinois for the American Nationals. "I just wanted to give him a clear path and let him have a shot at it and that's what he did. You never really want to see the half flash up in :54-second with a two-year-old but he was so strong, so good. Around the turn I was trying to catch some kind of a breather and I got lucky and got a bit of a breather into him. When I asked him to pace on he just responded huge. He's just a great, great horse and I can't say enough about Dave Menary, team Menary, they do such and awesome job with their horses and I'm just so lucky to get to drive them."
Sent postward as the 6-5 second choice, Prodigal Seelster paid $4.70 to win. The son of Camluck-Platnium Seelster now boasts $479,455 in earnings for Ontario owners Larry Menary, Denis Breton, Kenneth Ewen and the Double Or Nothing Stables.
Mach Dreamer came flying off cover to edge out Twin B Warrior for the 1:50.2 victory in the Super Final for three-year-old pacing colts.
Dalhousie Dave (Jody Jamieson) took control off the gate and posted a :27.2 opening quarter but a pocket-pulling Big Bay Point (Mario Baillargeon) swept to command down the backstretch. Big Bay Point’s lead was short-lived though as Twin B Warrior (Randy Waples) rolled up from fourth and cleared past the :55.2 half.
As Twin B Warrior headed to three-quarters in 1:22.4, Dalhousie Dave moved back out for more but Mach Dreamer, with Mark MacDonald in the bike for regular reinsman Rick Zeron, came charging up off cover to steal the glory in 1:50.2. The son of Mach Three-Boy Meets Girl edged out Twin B Warrior by a neck with Dalhousie Dave finishing third.
“It was an exciting race to watch, everyone was pressing on the gas early to get position and it set up for a great finish,” said MacDonald after the win. “I was lucky to get second over cover and get towed into the race. I really didn’t think I was going to be able to catch Randy. He’s got a really nice horse and had the jump on me but this is a great horse and he really dug in late."
Mach Dreamer paid $7.00 to win as the 5-2 second choice. The Murray Brethour trainee, a winner of nine races in 21 seasonal starts including two Gold Finals, is owned and bred by E. Stephen Scarff of Halifax, N.S. His earnings now stand at $474,927 for 2010 and $509,722 lifetime.
Random Destiny wore down pacesetter Emmylou Who for a 1:55 triumph in the three-year-old filly trot Super Final.
Emmylou Who (Lyle MacArthur) left from Post 5 and reached the opening quarter in :27.3. As she took a breather during the second panel, trainer-driver Riina Rekila sent Random Destiny first over from fourth. Random Destiny pushed ahead past the :58.1 half-mile mark but Emmylou Who put up a fight and came back on as they raced by three-quarters in 1:26.1. The top pair battled down the stretch with Random Destiny getting up to score by three-quarters of a length in 1:55. Poof Shes Gone (Jody Jamieson) rounded out the top three.
"I was just driving my race and my horse was feeling so strong there in the last turn and I was thinking that if there was not some superstar coming we would win this race," said Rekila in the winner's circle. "She's is very good shape and I didn't even pull the earplugs."
Random Destiny paid $4.80 to win as the 3-2 favourite. The daughter of Ken Warkentin-Front Porch Swing picked up her fourth win in a row and sixth of the season in 17 starts. The two-time Gold winner this year has put away $490,923 for Overseas Farms Ltd. of Campbellville, Ont. With the win, her career earnings climbed to $691,223.
Text Me collected his second Super Final trophy thanks to a 1:54.4 wire-to-wire score in the three-year-old colt trot division.
The Bob McIntosh-trained Text Me and driver Randy Waples left from Post 8 and carved out fractions of :27.2, :57.4 and 1:26.4 en route to a two-length victory in 1:54.4. Grumpy Jake (Steve Condren) rallied off second over cover to place with pocket-sitter Windsun Galaxie (Paul MacDonell) finishing third.
"He actually wanted to keep on going tonight and that's usually not his way," said Waples after the victory. "Usually when he gets to the front he relaxes and you've got to chase him but he had his game face on tonight. His nickname is 'Teddy' and Teddy was ready. He was good and I talked to Bob briefly beforehand and he just said he's fresh and he's ready to go. When he tells you that, boy I'll tell you it gives you some good feeling. It's a good feeling to jump up on his horses anytime but when he gets that gleam in his eye that he knows that horse is going to put out a big effort it makes you feel pretty good. That horse is just unbeleiveable, he's been a great ride for two years."
Text Me paid $6.10 to win as the 2-1 second choice. The son of Kadabra-Dial Nile earned his ninth victory of the season in 19 starts and pushed his earnings to $554,727 for the Robert McIntosh Stables Inc. of Windsor, Ont., the C S X Stables of Liberty Center, Ohio and Dave Boyle of Bowmanville, Ont. The colt now boasts career earnings totaling $931,853.
Three-time Gold winner Western Silk wrapped up her OSS season undefeated for trainer Casie Coleman thanks to a 1:50.4 triumph in the Super Final for three-year-old filly pacers.
Bay Girl (Phil Hudon) sprinted off the gate from Post 7 and hit the opening quarter in :26.3 with 1-5 favourite Western Silk getting away near the back of the seven-horse field.
Preppy Party Girl (Jody Jamieson) then made a backstretch brush from fourth and took over the lead at the :55.1 half-mile marker. As the field headed to three-quarters in 1:23.1, Western Silk and driver Mark MacDonald moved underway and hooked up in a heated stretch duel with Preppy Party Girl. Digging in on the outside, Western Silk got up in time to score by a head in 1:50.4. Tiz To Dream (Doug McNair) finished over six lengths behind in third.
"It was tight. That horse of Jody's and Erv Miller's, she's a nice filly," noted Coleman after the win. "She was actually entered in the Harrisburg Sale. I was hoping she'd be there - not only would she not have been here but I would have tried to buy her. She's a realy nice filly, very tough."
“I love Western Silk. She’s my favourite horse maybe of all-time to drive," commentd MacDonald earlier this evening. "She’s just so special. She’s so fast and I’ve had so much fun driving her. She’s been a hell of a ride all year. She’s maybe not the best horse on the planet but she is to me. I really like her a lot.”
Western Silk paid $2.70 to win for the third consecutive time. The daughter of Western Terror-Extemporaneous notched her 11th win of the season in 15 starts and surpassed $1 million mark in seasonal earnings. The career winner of $1.4 million is owned by the Casie Coleman Stables Inc. of Cambridge, Ont. and Tom Hill of Lancashire, Great Britain.
"She's been just unbelievable," added Coleman. "She's an Ontario-sired three-year-old filly that just went over a million dollars in a year this year. Not only did she beat the Ontario-sired fillies but she won the Jugette and the Fan Hanover. She's just been unbelievable, a dream come true."
To view Saturday’s results, click here.