Round one of the Blizzard Series went postward in the Thursday evening at Woodbine Mohawk Park, and driver Louis Philippe Roy had the magic touch with the distaffers winning two of the three splits.
Filter Hanover captured the first division for Roy and trainer Corey Johnson in a time of 1:57.1 over a track rated ‘Good’ with a two-second allowance.
Sent off as the 7-5 favourite, Filter Hanover chased Laila Blue to the quarter pole in :28.4 before sprinting past the foe as the field moved into the backstretch. Filter Hanover sliced out middle splits of :57 and 1:25 and then used a :30.4 closing panel to win by three-quarters of a length over Laila Blue. Longshot Perfect Mia rounded out the top three finishers in the $17,000 affair.
The four-year-old daughter of Bettors Delight-Fashion Majorette bounced back from a poor outing one week earlier for the partnership of 9228 2599 Quebec Inc, Roger Bourgeois, Serge Leonard and Jean C Dessureault. The victory was her first of the season and it was the sixth of her career. She pushed her lifetime earnings to $62,456 with the victory.
Big Myrtle gave Roy the Blizzard Series double thanks to her front-stepping score in the second division.
The four-year-old daughter of Big Jim-Myrtle Beach released Happy Looker to the lead at the quarter pole in :28.2 before retaking the position of command from that foe in the backstretch. After re-establishing the lead, Big Myrtle cruised through middle panels of :57.3 and 1:26.1 before using a :29.2 closing quarter to win by three-quarters of a length over Nice Kitty Hanover in 1:55.3. Patricia Mae took home the show dough in the $17,000 tilt.
Trainer Chantal Mitchell co-owns the homebred with breeder Doug Millard. The partners watched the mare notch her second win of the year and the fifth victory of her career. The $8,500 payday bumped her overall cash stash to $70,240.
Roy came close to sweeping all three divisions, but driver Bob McClure rained on his parade thanks to a last-second triumph with race favourite Ruby On Rails in the third division.
The four-year-old daughter of Bettors Delight-Luck On The Run got away fifth and watched Larjon Leah and Nectar take turns on the lead through fractions of :28.3, :58 and 1:27. McClure came first over with Ruby On Rails after the half, and after advancing steadily on the rim she really started to bear down on the leaders in deep stretch.
Larjon Leah popped out of the pocket and went past Nectar in the late going, but Ruby On Rails was relentless in pursuit and used a :28.1 final frame push to win by a half-length margin over Larjon Leah in 1:55.3. Nectar was a well-beaten third.
Sent off at odds of even-money, Ruby On Rails picked up her first win of the season for trainer Nick Gallucci. The homebred is now a three-time winner for Millar Farms of Stouffville, Ont. With the win, the mare upped her lifetime earnings to $34,865.
To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results – Woodbine Mohawk Park.