A slew of sophomore, pacing fillies slugged it out in six divisions of the OSS Grassroots at Mohawk Racetrack on Monday evening, and for the most part the divisions belonged to longshots
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Ugly Betty, fresh off a maiden-breaking score at Woodbine on May 12, pulled off a 6-1 upset in the first division for trainer/driver Joe Hudon, Jr. The Camluck-Red Road Rage miss marched to the quarter pole in :26.4 before taking a backseat to race favourite Lady Kelleigh Ann. The new leader sped through middle splits of :55.4 and 1:24.2 before being overtaken by Ugly Betty who drew off to win by 1-1/4 lengths over Lexi N Tookie in 1:54.1. Almost Lucky finished third.
Karen Hudon of Acton, ON shares ownership on the homebred with the filly’s breeder, Margaret Payne of St. Augustine, FL. Unraced as a rookie, Ugly Betty has banked $36,470 to date.
Angel On The Wing rallied from out of the clouds – rain clouds, that is – to take the second division in a time of 1:54.3 for trainer Larry Fitzsimmons and his grandson, Nick Steward, who did the driving. Steward fed the homebred daughter of Bo Knows Jate-Angels Uprising racetrack turning for home and she used a :28-second closing panel to pass five foes over the final quarter of the $24,000 contest. She got up to post the head decision over Chappies Girl, with Back Yard Baby taking home the show dough.
Sent off at odds of 25-1, Angel On The Wing improved her 2011 record to 6-1-3 in 16 starts for the partnership of Linda Fitzsimmons, William Coward and Richard Dalby. The filly has stashed away more than $41,000 in her career.
Athenas Legacy was a maiden-breaking winner in her $24,000 division for driver Jody Jamieson and trainer George McClure, and the homebred daughter of Million Dollar Cam-Stonebridge Athena had plenty of lengths to spare at the end of the mile. She tracked cover from second over before using a three-wide move to gain the lead, and her :28.1 final quarter was good enough to earn her the 4-1/2 lengths score over Montenegro in 1:53.2. The even money favourite, Gwinning Gwen, faded late and finished third.
Sent off at odds of 8-1, Athenas Legacy bumped her bankroll to $14,640 with the win for the partnership of Carman Hastie, Stephen Brownell, Dustin McClure and Catherine McClure.
Cheryls Surprise was the first favourite to capture OSS hardware on Monday evening, and she did so in a career-best clocking of 1:54 for driver Jody Jamieson and trainer Scott McNiven. The daughter of Mach Three-Amazing Luck, who was sent off at odds of 6-5, rallied from just off the pace to defeat Twin B Special and Debis Sign.
Unraced as a rookie, Cheryls Surprise improved her sophomore record to 2-2-1 from six opportunities thanks to Monday’s victory. The homebred is owned by Donald Douglas of Ingersoll and John Kwiatkoski of London, ON. She has a cash stash of $20,690 to date.
Tilly Seelster tasted the winner’s circle for the first time in her career after she front-stepped to a 1:55 tally for driver Mark MacDonald. The Casie Coleman-trained daughter of Camluck-Twin B Rosebud parked past the quarter pole in :28 before clearing and leading through middle panels of :56.2 and 1:25.1 en route to the nose decision over the hard-charging Blue Monster. The show dough went to Imagine Semalu, whose late rally fell short by three-quarters of a length.
Owned by the D2D Racing Stable of Mississauga, ON, Tilly Seelster boosted her lifetime earnings to $15,140 with the win.
Kissngrin pulled off a 7-1 upset in the final division of the OSS Grassroots for the three-year-old filly pacers, and she did so in a career-best clocking of 1:54.2 for trainer Chad Milner. Phil Hudon rallied the homebred daughter of Grinfromeartoear-Dontkissntell to the 1-1/2 lengths decision over Modern Cinderella. Race favourite Lady Jill set the pace before weakening late and fading to finish third.
Fox Hollow Farm of Shavertown, PA shares ownership on the filly with her breeders, Dianne and Tom Milner of London, ON. The lion’s share of the $24,000 purse boosted the pacer’s earnings to $18,785.
The next stop on the OSS Grassroots trail for the three-year-old pacing fillies will be Grand River Raceway on June 15.
To view results for Monday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Monday Results – Mohawk Racetrack.