Ontop Rainman delivered as the even-money choice to open the Ontario Sired Spring Series for colts and geldings on Friday night (April 22) at Woodbine Mohawk Park, helping driver Mike Whelan reach a career milestone.
The winner's share of the $18,000 purse sent Whelan's lifetime earnings over the $10 million mark.
The 44-year-old resident of Dundas, Ont. earned back-to-back, career-best million-dollar seasons in the sulky in 2009-2010 and has driven 1,191 winners lifetime.
Ontop Rainman, trained by Whelan's father Walter, swept to the lead after watching Google My Chrome (Trevor Henry) and Sundance Lou (Jody Jamieson) trade turns on top through a :27.4 opening quarter. Im King Conn (Jonathan Drury) was hot on his heels and cleared at the half in :56.3 but Ontop Rainman popped back out at the 1:24.3 third quarter mark and took over in the stretch before holding off a pair of late-closers by a neck in 1:53.1. Google My Chrome finished up in second with Twin B Raptor (James MacDonald) rallying into third.
Ontop Rainman paid $4 to win. The three-year-old Hes Watching colt now has two victories from six career starts and a new lifetime mark for owner/breeder Christopher Nicol of Dundas, Ont.
The opening leg of the series, which is for Ontario-sired colts and geldings that were non-winners of $30,000 in 2021, was comprised of three divisions for pacers and a pair for trotters.
The other pacing divisions were won by Sport Secret in a career-best 1:53.2 for the father-son, trainer-driver duo of Gregg and Doug McNair, and Chucky Hanover in a 1:52.4 lifetime mark for trainer/driver Paul MacDonell.
Trainer Stephen Bossence swept the trotting splits with Stable Genius (Sylvain Filion) scoring by a head in 1:55.3 and Tuxedo Attire (McNair) holding on by a half-length in 1:57.3. Bossence shares ownership of both sophomores with Richard Thompson and Derek Reid, with Stephen Palermo also co-owning the latter colt. Both trotters are now two-for-two to start their careers.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park