It certainly came as no surprise that conditioner trainer Tracy Brainard captured Friday’s $54,700 Ontario Sired Spring Series Final at Mohawk Racetrack, however it was surprising that it was Power Off who garnered the win for her stable and driver Rick Zeron
.
Brainard sent out three horses in the final as part of a larger four-horse entry in the field of six. It was the undefeated Oscar Oscar (Mark MacDonald) who looked like the strongest part of the three-horse juggernaut heading into the final, but the speedy son of Western Terror made a costly break while sitting in the pocket on the final turn and took himself out of contention.
In the meantime, stablemate Blue Suede Shoes set all the fractions for driver Jody Jamieson and led the field for home. In the stretch, Power Off kicked in with a strong move to overhaul the pacesetter but had a closing Its A Good Thing (Randy Waples) to hold off.
Power Off held sway by more than a length at the finish with Its A Good Thing landing the place spot and Blue Suede Shoes settling for third. The clocking was a new stakes record time of 1:52.
The winner returned just $2.10 for the victory. There was no place or show wagering offered because of just three betting interests going postward and more than $80,000 was wagered into the win pool alone.
The victory was the second in nine tries this season for the son of Western Terror - H H Sapphire who is owned by Bulletproof Enterprises of Boca Raton, Florida. The winner’s share of the purse vaulted him over $65,000 lifetime.
In other action, Pink Kangaroo made the transition to the Open ranks in fine form this evening. Using her typical off the pace efforts, the Brian Hodgson-trained daughter of Cams Card Shark took this week’s $44,000 Fillies & Mares Open Pace in 1:51.1 by a length.
Steve Condren settled the five-year-old mare in seventh from Post 6 as Im All In (Randy Waples) swooped across the track for the early lead. Following a :26.3 opening quarter, the parked out Four Starzz Meliss (Keith Oliver) pressed on to take the lead but the fan favourite, Marietta Hall (Mark MacDonald) chased her for the top spot and opened up by two lengths at the half in :54.3.
As Marietta Hall coasted past three-quarters in 1:23, Pink Kangaroo was gearing up in the backfield. Five lengths off the lead at three-quarters, she moved into the flow from third-over. Condren then angled his charge three-wide and Pink Kangaroo unleashed a :27.1 final frame for the 7-1 upset.
Windsun Countess (Phil Hudon) came on for second while Kg Katriona (Jason Brewer) rallied for third.
John Bell of Petrolia, Ont. owns the winner of two races in five starts this year. Pink Kangaroo earned her 19th career victory lifting her earnings over the $300,000 mark.
To view Friday's results, click here.
(With files from WEG)
IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT
IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT IF ONE HORSE FROM A STABLE ENTRY INTERFERED WITH OTHER HORSES NOT PART OF THE ENTRY THAT ALL HORSES FROM THE STABLE ENTRY WOULD BE PLACED BEHIND THE INTERFERED HORSE...OSCAR OSCAR INTERFERED WITH A FEW HORSES INCLUDING ITS A GOOD THING WHO FINISHED 2ND... SHOULD ITS A GOOD THING BE PLACED 1ST OR AM I MISSING SOMETHING.
IF I WAS RACING FOR A MILLION DOLLARS AND I HAD A STABLE ENTRY IN THE RACE THEN WOULD IT NOT BE WISE FOR ONE OF MY HORSES IN THE STABLE ENTRY TO KNOCK THE REST OF THE FIELD DOWN SO THE OTHER ENTRY COULD TAKE THE WIN AND ALL THE MONEY ???