One of Woodbine Mohawk Park's biggest stakes weekends of the season kicked off with a pair of $82,750 Casual Breeze Stakes (Grade 3) for three-year-old trotting fillies on Friday, June 12.
Kngtstlkrs Games and driver Louis-Philippe Roy pulled off a mild 8-1 upset in the first and fastest division, winning in a lifetime-best 1:52.4 for trainer Peter Shody.
TH Trix R Forkids (Doug McNair) protected pylon position with the leaving Calyx (Travis Cullen) crossing into the pocket over Kngtstlkrs Games, who swept up to take over command after a :28 quarter. As the new leader approached the half in :56.2, heavy 1-9 favourite All Time Trot S (James MacDonald) advanced first-over from fourth but faded in the stretch.
Kngtstlkrs Games raced clear past three-quarters in 1:24.2, but the fillies on her back were the major danger, gaining ground late in the lane. However, Kngtstlkrs Games held on for the victory with TH Trix R Forkids a neck back in second and Calyx to the outside in third.
A homebred for the Knightstalker Stable of Oshawa, Ont., Kngtstlkrs Games has won one-third of her nine career starts, including her first two races this year, for earnings topping $80,000.
"She's just very little but she's just a sports car -- she's nice to drive and she trots just perfect," Roy said of the Calgary Games-Pink Pistol filly. "I used to drive the mare, Pink Pistol. She was my first Breeders Crown drive [in 2017] and she was also a little size but she wasn't as handy as this one. This one's smart and trots perfect."
Kngtstlkrs Games was the second choice in the wagering and produced a $18.20 win payout in her first stakes score.
There was an even bigger upset in the second division as the Rick Zeron-trained Ill Have The Red stunned at 44-1 odds winning in a career-best 1:53.2 off a slick steer from Trevor Henry.
The fillies from the outer wing of the starting gate flashed early speed with a breaker in the mix causing some commotion, as 8-5 favourite Shimmering Hanover (Louis-Philippe Roy) emerged on top ahead of Flowing Tribute (Bob McClure) at the end of the :27.3 quarter. Those two gained some separation on the rest of the field through middle splits of :56.3 and 1:25 and battled noses apart into the stretch.
Meanwhile, Ill Have The Red saved ground racing in sixth until the stretch when she unleashed a wicked :26.4 closing kick while shooting through along the pylons to steal the show. She prevailed by three-quarters of a length over Flowing Tribute, with Shimmering Hanover holding on for third ahead of One Belle (Tyle Borth).
Ill Have A Red did go inside a pylon in the stretch resulting in an inquiry, but the result was upheld as judges ruled she was forced inside the pylon by HP Crystaline (Doug McNair).
A multiple stakes winner as a freshman, Ill Have The Red rebounded off a miscue in her last start on May 25 in the New York Sire Stakes Excelsior Series at Vernon Downs.
"I was expecting her to be back to herself," said Zeron after the race. "She got a little bit of a splint that was bothering her and we took her over to Vernon Downs and raced her, and it was bugging her and she ran, so we gave her a couple of weeks off. Doc Hennessy came in and took care of the splint, and we took our time and had her prepped for tonight."
The Chapter Seven-Shishito filly now has four wins from 13 career starts and is just shy of $140,000 in earnings for owners 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 of Warren, New Jersey and John Fielding of Scarborough, Ont.
Ill Have The Red returned a whopping $90.40 to her backers for a $2 win ticket.
On the eve of North America Cup night, a sibling to the race's 2010 winner Sportswriter, sired by 2001 champion Bettors Delight was victorious in Ontario Sires Stakes action. The second leg of the Grassroots Series for three-year-old pacing fillies was held on Friday night's card with the first of four $25,000 divisions going to James Avritt Sr.'s homebred Romantic Beauty.
A two-time Grassroots winner as a rookie, the filly out of the Jate Lobell mare Precious Beauty took a new lifetime mark of 1:51, winning in front-end fashion for the father and son driving and training team of Doug and Gregg McNair. Leaving from post six, Romantic Beauty made front in the first turn and set fractions of :27.1, :55.1 and 1:23.4 en route to the 3-3/4-length victory over pocket-pursuer Bikini Seelster (J.R. Plante), with Angels Amoung Us (Travis Cullen) just edging out Could Be Queen (James MacDonald) for third.
Another daughter of Bettors Delight, Naughty Delight (dam Pleasant Yet Bad) won her Grassroots division with driver James MacDonald in the bike as she tracked the cover of Dottie Hinson (Louis-Philippe Roy) through the final turn and outsprinted that foe in the stretch to prevail by half a length in 1:53.1. Trainer Anthony Beaton shares ownership of the filly, who was a winner at the Gold level in her freshman season, with David Mercer of Westmount, N.S. and Timothy Hayes of Midway, Kentucky.
The son and mother team of driver Travis Cullen and trainer Jodie Cullen won the final two divisions with a pair of 1:51 winners, Malicia Speed and Horse With A Plan. Both fillies earned new speed badges with their first Sire Stakes victories. Horse With A Plan (dam Albany Hanover) gave sire Bettors Delight a triple in this Grassroots leg. She is owned by A1stable of Dundas, Ont., Blair Kidd of Miniota, Man., and John Collings of Brudenell, P.E.I. Malicia Speed, a Cattlewash-Ms Malicious filly, is owned by Don MacRae of Vernon Bridge, P.E.I.
In a $50,000 Fillies & Mares Open Pace, Lets N Joy N and driver James MacDonald got up in the final strides to prevail in a four-across finish over the front three mares in the race, Avyanna (Mark MacDonald), Simply The Best (Louis-Philippe Roy) and Ultimate Desbi N (Trevor Henry). Moving uncovered from fifth in the final turn and sprinting home in :26.1, Lets N Joy N took a new lifetime mark of 1:50.4 and improved to 11-for-15 in her first North American campaign. Jacques Dupont trains the four-year-old Bettors Delight-Rock N Joy mare for owner Ecurie Csl of Sorel-Tracy, Que.
There was a 45-minute delay early on the card caused by an accident that occurred before the fourth race when horses were warming up on track, involving Dr. Ian Moore and Sarah Svanstedt. Both Moore and Svanstedt were unseated from their horses in a warm-up collision. The AGCO judges reported that Svanstedt was taken to hospital by ambulance while Moore was treated by EMS on site and his wife would be taking him to the hospital for further evaluation. Further updates will be provided when available.
Woodbine reported that the horses involved in the incident -- Jay and All Time Trot S -- were okay. Jay was scratched from his Grassroots division and All Time Trot S did compete in the aforementioned Casual Breeze Stakes.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(Standardbred Canada; photo of Kngtstlkrs Games winning on June 12)