Headlines were aplenty out of the Thursday (Feb. 1) evening card at Woodbine Mohawk Park with series action on tap and milestones reached.
The Blizzard Pacing Series got underway after being postponed due to last Thursday's racing cancellation at Mohawk. The winter series is open to three and four-year-old pacing fillies and mares that were non-winners of two races or $30,000 lifetime as of Oct. 31, 2023.
Angostura Hanover won the first $18,000 split with James MacDonald in the bike.
James MacDonald and the Kyle Fellows student got away sixth through panels in :27.2 and :56.3 before moving to the outside. At the three-quarters in 1:25.3, the pair were three-wide. Going into the final turn, Angostura Hanover achieved the lead and kept going to win by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:54.2 over the 'good' track. True That (Doug McNair) finished second and Mcvera (Brett MacDonald) rounded out the top three.
Angostura Hanover is a four-year-old daughter of Betting Line and the Artspace mare Armbro Amoretto. Owned by Dr. A. J. Peter Johnston and Craig Watkins, the mare earned her sixth win from 20 starts to go along with four seconds and three thirds. Angostura Hanover has banked $65,592 lifetime. She paid $2.50 to win as the bettors' choice.
Jonathan Drury drove Rose Run Yvette in that same division of the Blizzard Pacing Series. With a fourth-place finish and $1,440 banked, Drury achieved a career milestone going over $30 million in lifetime earnings. The Guelph, Ont. resident has 1,941 career victories since beginning in 2008.
In the second $18,000 split, D Gs Tesla posted a massive upset with Sylvain Filion at the lines.
Filion and the Shayne Barrington trainee followed the pocket trip behind favoured Honey Love (Tyler Borth) through panels in :28, :57.1 and 1:26. A shuffle of the order of the field going into the final turn and down the lane led to D Gs Tesla to own the lead with open track ahead. D Gs Tesla won by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:55.3 over Betternotmachme (Drury) in second and Jillian Jiggs (Travis Cullen) in third.
D Gs Tesla, a four-year-old daughter of Shadow Play and the Yankee Cam mare Majo Elika, is owned by Daniel Surprenant, Guylaine Fortin and Imagine Stable. She earned her third career tally in 10 starts and bumped her bankroll to $27,305. As the 26-1 longshot on the board, the mare paid $53.70 to win.
Bookie Baby (Sportswriter-Borderlinegorgious) won the first division of a Pop Up Series for $8,000 claiming mare pacers by 3-1/2 lengths in 1:57.2 with Sylvain Filion in the bike for trainer and owner Katelyn Graham. Del Diggity (So Surreal-Beach Sunset) won the second division i 1:58.1 with Doug McNair holding the lines for trainer Malik Smith and owner Gary Bickford. Outlawskysthelimit (Smart Shark-Fox Valley Cherish) won the third and final Pop Up Series division with Travis Cullen in the bike for Jodie Cullen as they teamed up to win by three lengths in 1:58.
To view Thursday's harness racing results, click the following link: Thursday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(Standardbred Canada)