After being postponed one week due to inclement weather, the final of the Wine & Roses Trotting Series was contested Thursday evening at Woodbine Mohawk Park with the final going to Stonebridge Strong in first-over fashion for driver Chris Christoforou and trainer Paul Megens.
Christoforou got away fifth with Stonebridge Strong while race favourite BCs Rose marched to the lead and carved out fractions of :28.2, :59.4 and 1:30. Stonebridge Strong came first-over around the final turn and then used a closing quarter of :28 to win by three-quarters of a length over BCs Rose in 1:58.4. All Muscle N Sass was third.
Saltwater Stable of Moffat, ON owns the four-year-old daughter of Muscle Mass-OK To Play who has constructed a 2-1-0 record from five trips to the track this season. The five-time winner bumped her career cash stash to $104,574 with the win.
Thursday’s card also featured the opening round of the Ontario Girls Pacing Series, with Awesome Hill claiming a popular win in the lone division for the tandem of driver Doug McNair and trainer Chantal Mitchell.
The four-year-old daughter of Sunshine Beach-Taxi Fare Hanover sat a three-hole trip behind leader Bottomoftheninth who stole away with easy fractions of :28.2 and :59.4. McNair hustled his charge first-over going into the final turn, with Bottomoftheninth still in command of the tempo at the three-quarter pole in 1:30.3. Awesome Hill kicked into another gear in the lane, and her :26.1 final frame was enough to earn her the two-length score over Share The Moment in 1:57.1. Bottomoftheninth took home the show dough.
Tom Hill of Hamilton, ON bred and owns the eight-time winner who now boasts a 2-1-0 record from four trips to the track this season. The victory pushed her lifetime earnings over $100,000.
Moonlitebeach and Nothingcomparestou hit the line together and celebrated their dead-heat triumph in the lone division of the second leg of the Pop Up Series for conditioned claimers of the female persuasion. It was Moonlitebeach who shot to the front for driver Jonathan Drury, and together they sliced out fractions of :28.2, :58.4 and 1:28.4. Nothingcomparestou and driver Doug McNair enjoyed a ground-saving trip for the first half before going first-over on the leader on the way to the three-quarter pole. Both mares sprinted home and both hit the line at the exact same time en route to sharing the 1:57.1 triumph over race favourite Century Georgia, who was a lapped-on third.
Carmen Auciello trains Moonlitebeach for owner Dan Sarafian of Unionville, ON. The five-year-old daughter of Sunshine Beach-Galyn Seelster improved her 2022 record to 2-2-1 from eight starts. The seven-time winner recent went over $50,000 in earnings.
Nothingcomparestou has now won three of her last four assignments for trainer Dave Brown, who bred and owned the four-year-old daughter of Hes Watching-Rub N Tug with Jim Elburg. The mare was claimed from the winning effort. She’s manufactured a 3-2-0 record from seven seasonal starts and the victory pushed her lifetime earnings over $50,000.
To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results – Woodbine Mohawk Park.