Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots competitors stepped onto the track Tuesday (June 14) at Woodbine Mohawk Park for a pair of $18,000 events helping the sophomore colts prep for their next Grassroots showdown in July.
Pacing sophomores opened the card Tuesday with Final Cheeserecipe pulling a 23-1 upset. The Betterthancheddar gelding sat in the pocket behind Silk Road Smash, who swept to the lead from post 10 and set a clip of :26.4, :56.3 and 1:24.3. He endured first-over pressure from Sip Of Bourbon into the final turn before that challenger folded and stalled the outer tier, leaving an opening for Final Cheeserecipe to fire. The Blake MacIntosh trainee accelerated off the covered trip and stormed home in :26.1 to stop the clock in 1:51.1. Silk Road Smash settled for second, beaten 2-1/2 lengths, with Camera Moment third and Stone Carver fourth.
Kim and Dan Sergeant bred and own Final Cheeserecipe, who paid $49.20 to win in collecting his fourth victory from 19 starts and pushing his bankroll to $36,526. Sylvain Filion sat in the bike.
Lexus Ranger landed a similar trip and likewise lighted the board but with a 10-1 upset in the Grassroots Starters event for trotting colts and geldings. Trainer-driver Paul MacDonell secured the lead with Lexus Ranger to a :27.2 first quarter before yielding control to HP Maestro, who then took the field to the half in :57.1 and by three-quarters in 1:26.2. However Lexus Ranger soon emerged with fresh legs and dug into the tempo-setter late to down that rival by a half length in 1:54.3 with Armstead Cole finishing third and Kipper Whipr Snipr closing for fourth.
An Archangel gelding, Lexus Ranger competes for owner-breeder Norm Dunstan. He won his fourth race from 13 starts and has now earned $54,100 off the victory where he returned a $23.80 mutuel.
These Grassroots competitors will look to return into the series when their divisions spar again in July. The sophomore pacing colts and geldings return to action at Woodbine Mohawk Park on July 9 while the trotting glamour boys will go at Rideau Carleton Raceway on July 10.
To view Tuesday's harness racing results, click the following link: Tuesday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.