Hasty Bid chased down odds-on favourite Safe Conduct from the pocket to register his first lifetime open-class victory in the $40,000 Open Trot for the husband-wife team of James and Paige MacDonald on Sunday, Nov. 30 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Hasty Bid, starting from post six, fired out alongside five-hole starter Safe Conduct (Chris Christoforou) but dropped in behind that rival to sit the pocket through fractions of :27, :56.4, and 1:25. As Safe Conduct duelled with first-over Usain Hanover (Louis-Philippe Roy) into the lane, James MacDonald pulled Hasty Bid to the outside, and the five-year-old ignited in the last eighth of a mile to win by a half-length in 1:54. Safe Conduct was a game second, followed by What About Elmo (Jody Jamieson).
Hasty Bid, in his first Open win, boosted his seasonal record to four-for-18. Paige MacDonald of Guelph, Ont. trains the son of My Mvp-Sunshinelollipops and shares ownership with 1000063663 Ontario Inc. of Guelph. The winning gelding is now 10-for-53 for his career with earnings of $782,194. He paid $13 to win.
There were three $15,000 Pop-Up Series first-leg splits on the 10-race program. The winners were Ginger Tree Finny ($6.70) in 1:53.1 for driver James MacDonald, Gentleonmymind ($80.50) in 1:53.2 with Scott Young at the reins, and State One Smiley ($3.80) in 1:54.3 for J.R. Plante. The series is for pacers that have started for a purse of $10,000 or less in their past three starts and are non-winners of $50,000 this year. Non-winners of $30,000 in 2025 in 10 or more starts are also eligible.
To view Sunday’s harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(Standardbred Canada)