Randy Waples engineered a victory for Bob McIntosh trainee Lady J K in the first of two $25,000 eliminations for the Ontario Sired Autumn Series for sophomore pacing fillies tonight at Woodbine
.
In the first tilt, Lady J K pocket-sat behind Mark MacDonald and Mistreos through early fractions of :28.4, :57.3, and 1:25.4, the pair leaving the rest of the six-filly field well behind. Waples angled lady J K out to challenge in the stretch and she got to her rival in the final strides, stopping the timers in 1:54.4.
Mistreos hung on for second by a head, and Wild West Angel (Jody Jamieson) was some seven lengths back in third. Asker To Dance (Sylvain Filion) and Erikastar Mindale (Keith Oliver) will also advance to the final.
McIntosh co-owns Lady J K with C S X Stables and Al McIntosh Holdings. The Camluck daughter can now boast three wins in 14 tries as a sophomore.
Smashbox, the 7-5 favourite, made her Woodbine debut a winning one in the second elimination, sneaking up on the inside to poach the victory from Jody Jamieson and Mach Me Not.
The winning time of 1:55.2 shaved three-fifths of a second off the Mach Three filly’s previous best effort. Jim Ainsworth trains, and Rick Zeron was in the bike.
Owned by Larry Ainsworth, William Boden, and the Martwest Racing Stable, Smashbox has scored seven victories since she started her career this August, and has never been worse than third in nine starts. She recently swept the Middlesex Series at London’s Western Fair Raceway and clearly finds the bigger oval in Rexdale just as much to her liking.
Thrillionaire (Mario Baillargeon), Another Dawn (Mark MacDonald) and Hudson Gal (Randy Waples) will also advance to next Friday’s $50,000 final with their third, fourth and fifth place finishes.
The favourites continued to dominate Friday evening’s feature events with the popular Dreamfair Eternal overcoming post 10 to capture this week’s $44,000 Fillies & Mares Open Pace.
With Waples in the bike, the even-money favourite struck the front after a :26.3 opener and then bypassed stations of :55 and 1:23.2 en route to her 15th win in 29 seasonal starts. Dreamfair Eternal, trained by Pat Fletcher for owners-breeders John and Mary Lamers of Ingersoll, Ont., drew away by three lengths in the stretch from a challenging Miss Scarlett (Rick Zeron) to stop the clock in 1:51.3. Southwind Madonna (Lyle MacArthur) completed the triactor.
The Camluck miss has earned $578,420 in her five-year-old campaign. Her 27th win bumped her lifetime bankroll to $722,415.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click here.
(With files from WEG)