Harvest Series winner Lyons Hedgeabet charged off cover in the lane to win Thursday’s $17,000 second leg of the Niagara Series at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
A field of 10 sophomore pacing fillies clashed in the second and final preliminary leg ahead of the $32,600 series final on Boxing Day.
Round one winner Shadow World (Sylvain Filion) left hard to claim the early lead, posting an opening-quarter of :27.2. Odds On Stephanie (Louis-Philippe Roy), 2-1 favourite, rushed from fifth to first in the second quarter and carried the lead through middle-half fractions of :57.4 and 1:28.
Lyons Hedgeabet and driver Bob McClure sat seventh racing up the half and caught cover from stablemate Protect Blue Chip (Trevor Henry), who came first-up to within less than three lengths of the lead at three-quarters.
In the stretch, Odds On Stephanie was quickly surrounded by rivals. The quickest of all the fillies in the lane was a charging Lyons Hedgeabet, who stormed home to win by a length in 1:56. Shadow World shot up the inside to finish second, while Thrillonthebeach (Paul MacDonell) followed the winner to grab third. Odds On Stephanie was fourth.
A daughter of Mach Three, Lyons Hedgeabet is trained by Jeff Gillis for owner Geoffrey Lyons Mound. The sophomore filly broke her maiden on November 12 in the final of the Harvest Series and has now won three of her last five starts.
Lyons Hedgeabet will head towards next week’s final with three wins, 10 top-three finishes and $61,400 earned in 11 starts. She paid $17.70 to win.
Sophomore pacing fillies, who were non-winners of $60,000 lifetime as of October 31, 2018, were eligible for nomination to the Niagara Series.
Thursday’s 10-race card was also highlighted by the $34,000 Preferred Trot.
A fresh Dunbar Hall rallied from sixth and last turning for home to win in 1:54.2 for driver Jody Jamieson and trainer Stephanie Jamieson. The four-year-old gelding was making his first start since finishing fourth on November 26.
Cue Hall (Doug McNair) cut the mile, posting fractions of :27.2, :57.2 and 1:26.3. Dancer Hall (Filion), the most recent winner of the Preferred, got a two-hole trip, but had to settle for a second when Dunbar Hall charged by rivals in the stretch. B Yoyo (Roy) finished third, while Cue Hall was fourth.
Owned by Carl Jamieson and George Harrison, Dunbar Hall has now won nine of 25 starts this season. The four-year-old has banked an impressive $237,650 during his four-year-old campaign to bring his career earnings to $350,904.
A $2 win ticket on Dunbar Hall returned $6.80.
Live harness racing continues Friday evening at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Post time is 7:10 p.m.
To view the results from Thursday's card at Mohawk, click the following link: Thursday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(with files from Mohawk)