The 2021 and 2020 Johnston and Lampman Cup winners will receive their trophies Friday, May 27 at The Raceway at the Western Fair District with four Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots divisions for three-year-old pacing fillies included on the $414,000 Camluck Classic card.
Gregg McNair won the 2021 Johnston Cup as the leading OSS trainer. He has starters in two of four $21,000+ Grassroots divisions. The rural Guelph, Ont., resident is harnessing two daughters of Sportswriter: Fade Out in the first Grassroots division, race two on the card, and Mighty Melissa in the second Grassroots division and fourth race of the evening.
“Fade Out is a good filly, but drew poorly, but she’s a good one right now,” said McNair. “She has good gate speed, so she should be all right. Trevor Henry is driving her and he knows his way around London really good.”
To build on more than $100,000 in OSS earnings last season, she will have to overcome leaving from the seven-hole. The filly had a solid showing in the SBOA Stakes last Saturday at Woodbine Mohawk Park, where she finished fourth and was individually timed in 1:51.4 for McNair’s ownership partners Dean Lockhart and McKinlay & Fielding.
Mighty Melissa, owned by a group that includes McNair, Ross Family Farms Ltd., Wayne MacRae and Ross Holmes, drew a more favourable post, leaving from the rail in race four with Louis-Philippe Roy listed to drive. Lightly raced at two, she made only two OSS starts in her novice campaign, winning a Grassroots division at Georgian Downs. The filly was seventh in her only start this season at Woodbine Mohawk Park
McNair will also send out OSS graduate Karma Seelster in the $50,000 Forest City Pace for older mares on Friday's undercard as well as the three-year-old Shadow Play gelding Airy Shadow in one of the four City Of London Series finals.
Races six and eight are the remaining Grassroots divisions on the card.
The morning line favours Momentarily in race six. The daughter of Control The Moment posted a record of 3-1-3 in nine starts as a two-year-old. The 2020 Lampman Cup winner, Bob McClure, will drive the Dan Lagace trainee from post seven.
Motovation, a Sunshine Beach filly trained by Michael Kwietniowski, is the early favourite in the final OSS division of the evening. In four Grassroots starts as a freshman, the filly won once, was second twice and earned more than $22,000. Louis-Philippe Roy will be in the race bike.
The 2020 Johnston Cup winner, Shawn Steacy, doesn’t have an OSS entry, but will have horses on the card in the City of London Series finals.
OSS Presence In Camluck Classic
The feature race on the card, the $150,000 Camluck Classic presented by Seelster Farms, has three Ontario Sired horses in the field.
Tattoo Artist, an OSS Super Final champion as a two-year-old in 2019 and winner of seven additional Gold legs over two seasons, will start from post three as the 9-5 second choice on the morning line. Trained by Dr. Ian Moore, the five-year-old won two divisions of the MGM Borgata Pacing Series at Yonkers Raceway in April.
“He’s doing great. He trained well Tuesday,” said Moore. “He gets around the half pretty well, so it should be an advantage where he is sitting [with regards to his] post position as well.”
James MacDonald will drive the son of Hes Watching, on the night he receives his 2021 Lampman Cup.
Tattoo Artist is joined by Jimmy Freight, a son of Sportswriter who made his return to the racetrack in December 2021 following a two-year absence after entering the breeding shed. The seven-year-old stallion is the 6-5 morning line favourite from post five and enters the race off five straight wins in the top class at Woodbine Mohawk Park, including a come-from-behind win last time out over Tattoo Artist. Roy will drive the Richard Moreau trainee.
“Jimmy Freight certainly made a believer out of me the prior week at Mohawk. He came from way back to beat Tattoo Artist,” said Moore. “He could certainly be the toughest one in there, but it’s one of the strongest fields I’ve seen in recent years.”
Poseidon Seelster is the final OSS alumni in the race. Bred by the title sponsor, the son of Sunshine Beach has a record of 2-1-3 in 11 starts this season. He drew the rail post for Friday evening for trainer Donald Lindsey. Bob McClure gets the drive.
To view Friday's harness racing entries, click on the following link: Friday Entries - The Raceway at Western Fair District.
(With files from Ontario Racing)