Woodbine Mohawk Park hosted a dozen baby races for fillies on Thursday, June 12 with a trio of Dr. Ian Moore-trained debuting pacers headlining the action.
The day's baby races were delayed due a fire in the area on Wednesday evening, but proceeded under mainly sunny skies at 11 a.m., with the temperature at 18 degrees Celsius in Campbellville, Ont.
Moore-trained winners Lavender Seelster and Jay bookended the qualifying session, with matching 1:57.1 miles, the fastest in Canada so far this year for freshman fillies.
Driver Louis-Philippe Roy moved Lavender Seelster to lead from mid-pack after a :30.3 opening panel then hit the half in 1:00.2 and three-quarters in 1:29.3 before drifting off the pylons but still holding off the pocket-pursuing Blake MacIntosh-trained American Shine (Tyler Borth), an America Ideal sibling to multiple Ontario Sires Stakes Gold winner Sterling Choice. Lavender Seelster won by half a length with a :27.3 final frame. Playsomethingsweet was third, 1-3/4 lengths behind.
Bred by Seelster Farms, the filly by the Moore-trained Horse of the Year Century Farroh was a $30,000 yearling purchase from the London Classic Sale by Lavender Seelster Stable, Cambridge, Ont. She is out of the Sweet Lou mare Lucapela, a half-sister to five winners of more than $250,000, including stakes champions Rockapelo and Machapelo.
Moore drove Jay in the finale in a last-to-first score, making up a dozen lengths as she advanced uncovered down the backstretch to overtake pacesetter D A Black Beauty (:29.1, :58.4, 1:29.1) at the top of the stretch. Jay then held off outside closer A Clean Deal and the pylon-skimming Malicia Speed by half a length, with her last quarter clocked in :27.4.
The Seelster Farms-bred filly is sired by Cattlewash out of the Rock N Roll Heaven mare, Jan, a full sister to stakes winner Outkast Blue Chip and half-sibling to millionaire Georgia Pacific. Jay was a $95,000 yearling purchase from the London sale by Wilma & James Mackenzie of Ennismore, Ont., and Paul Chapman of Oakville, Ont.
Moore also sat behind his trainee P N G Shadow as the Cattlewash-Lady Arthur miss debuted in an 8-1/4-length romp in 1:57.3, nearly doubling her leading margin on one close pursuer with a 27-second closing quarter. Moore co-owns the filly with breeders R G McGroup Ltd. of Bathurst, N.B. and Serge Savard of St-Bruno, Que.
The fastest trotting filly winner was the Rick Zeron-trained and driven Ill Have The Red in 1:58.4. Ill Have The Red made a brief appearance on the lead early on, leaving from post four and pocketing Life Is Great into a :30.2 quarter before the parked out Sugar Packet and Captainess Sawyer traded leads through middle splits of 1:00.4 and 1:31. With a quarter-mile to go, Zeron tipped Ill Have The Red from third and she trotted home in :27.1 to win by one length. Sugar Packet found room between fillies in the stretch to get up for second with One Belle closing well for third over Captainess Sawyer.
The daughter of Chapter Seven out of stakes winner Shishito was a $94,595 yearling acquisition from the Lexington Selected Sale by Rick Zeron Stables of Oakville, Ont., James Walker of Port Perry, Ont., and Johnny Marvento of Montreal, Que. She was bred by Black Horse Racing and John Fielding. Ill Have A Red is a full sister to New York Excelsior winner Poblano.
Trainer Blake MacIntosh had three winners among the trotting filly set on Thursday. Jody Jamieson drove the MacIntosh trio of Miz Miracle (Green Manalishi S-Confession Session) in 1:59.1, I Take The Cake (Captain Corey-Ill Bring Dessert) in 1:59.3 and Northern Teardrop (Greenshoe-Save Your Tears) in 2.00.3. All three fillies were making their second qualifying starts, with Miz Miracle a repeat winner, knocking three-fifths of a second of her mark.
For complete results from the qualifying session, click the following link: Thursday Results (Qualifiers) - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
A replay of the qualifying video stream is available below.
(Standardbred Canada)