Twenty-nine three-year-old pacing fillies travelled to Woodbine Racetrack Monday evening to compete in a trio of $25,000 Niagara Stakes eliminations with veteran driver Rick Zeron guiding two of the fillies to
victory.
Ms Graywalls made her Canadian debut in the first tilt, scoring in gate-to-wire fashion for trainer John Grasso.
With Zeron at the helm, the 9-2 third choice held command through splits of :27.2, :57, and 1:25.3 before stopping the teletimer in a new lifetime mark of 1:55.
The 9-5 favourite, Carly Hollywood (Sylvain Filion), finished second one length back with Cards That Count (Paul MacDonell) rounding out the triactor. Also advancing to the final is fourth-place finisher Twin B Miracle (Scott Zeron).
“John Grasso told me when she gets to the front, she will let a horse get alongside of her and she will fight the horse off,” Zeron said following the victory. “She won’t let the horse go by, so I was fortunate enough that only one came at me down the stretch and there wasn’t somebody out three of four-wide coming in a flurry.”
The daughter of Western Terror-Graywalls is owned by Dean La Clair of Syracuse, New York. The win was Ms Graywalls’ sixth of the season in 24 starts and seventh lifetime, which pushes her career earnings to $62,963.
The grey miss paid $11.80 to win.
Fresh off a three month layoff, Markella pulled off a mild 5-1 upset in the second elimination for trainer, owner and breeder Charalambos Christoforou and driver Chris Christoforou.
Charolettes Maggie (Paul MacDonell) was the early leader before Seascape Hanover (Mario Baillargeon) was pulled from the pocket and taken to the front after a :27.4 first quarter.
Seascape Hanover held the lead through fractions of :57.1 and 1:26.1, but in deep stretch Markella found some late speed and open racetrack to capture the dash by a nose in 1:55. Seascape Hanover finished second and Charolettes Maggie was third.
“I was kind of boxed in at the head of the lane and I was looking for some room,” said Christoforou, the winning reinsman. “I was hoping for a little more room. so I could get up to Mario [Baillargeon] and get around him, but it worked out.
“I know my filly could sprint home pretty good if you don’t use her early, so I was pretty confident she would have a shot,” he added. “It was quite a ways to come though for her first start back.”
After going winless in five starts as a rookie, the homebred daughter of Art Major-Oro has put together a 3-4-0 record in 10 starts this season. She has banked $49,690 to date.
Markella returned $12.80 to win.
Zeron also scored with the Murray Brethour-trained Windsun Soho in the third and final elimination.
Easterpromise (Brandon Campbell) clocked the :27.1 opening panel, but a parked out D Gs Tinkerbell (Sylvain Filion) drove on, clearing to the front after the first quarter.
With a three-race win streak on the line, D Gs Tinkerbell passed the half in :57.1 and the three-quarters in 1:25.4. The filly opened up on the field as they hit the top of the stretch, but from off-the-pace Windsun Soho dug in to win the lion’s share of the purse in 1:54.1.
The odds-on favourite defeated D Gs Tinkerbell by a neck. Tu Sei Bella (Scott Zeron) got up for third.
“Murray [Brethour] and I have really gotten along well with this filly,” said Zeron. “We really believe this filly is going to be an Open mare when she gets a little bit older. We are kind of protecting her and not sending her down the road or putting her on the front end. We are always keeping her in check and keeping her off-the-pace.”
The homebred daughter of Cams Card Shark-Armbro Magnify, who was winless in two starts as a two-year-old, has fashioned a record of 5-1-2 record in 14 starts this season. She has banked $75,966 to date for Brethour, who also owns the filly with Windsun Farm Inc.
Windsun Soho, a Bet Canadian campaign pick, paid $3.50 to win.
The top three finishers in each elimination and one fourth-place finisher, drawn by lot, will advance to the $60,000 Niagara Stakes final.
The rich final is slated for Monday, December 26. The Boxing Day program, which also features the $60,000 Valedictory Stakes final, has a special first race post-time of 1:20 p.m.
Here’s how the sophomore fillies will line up behind the gate:
1. Seascape Hanover
2. Ms Graywalls
3. Markella
4. Windsun Soho
5. Tu Sei Bella
6. Carly Hollywood
7. D Gs Tinkerbell
8. Charolettes Maggie
9. Cards That Count
10. Twin B Miracle
AE. Western
To view Monday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Monday Results - Woodbine Racetrack.
(With files from WEG)