Trotting mares Frenchfrysnvinegar and Cedar Dove were repeat winners in the second leg of the Miss Versatility Series on Sunday evening at Mohawk Racetrack.
O'Brien Award winner Frenchfrysnvinegar, driven by Jody Jamieson, went wire-to-wire to win the first $30,000 division in 1:53.4 over the rallying Sugar Queen Gabby (Rick Zeron) and popular pocket-sitter Pembroke Heat Wave (Chris Christoforou).
With the inside post advantage, the seven-year-old Angus Hall-Gugus mare established the lead off the gate ahead of the Armbro Flight Stakes champion and rolled past fractions of :27.3, :56.3 and 1:25.2 en route to the two and a half length victory. She paid $6.20 to win as the 2-1 second choice.
Jeff Gillis trains the career winner of 26 races and $723,125 in purses for owner David Smith of Rockwood, Ont.
Cedar Dove, trained and driven by Mike Vanderkemp, sat third early on before rallying three-wide around Magic Wheel (Joe Hudon Jr.) into the final turn and chasing down pacesetter China Pearls (Randy Waples) to win the second split in a career-best 1:53 flat.
China Pearls, who cleared to the lead after the :27.3 opening quarter and carved out middle splits of :57.1 and 1:24.3 while rebuffing a first over challenge from Magic Wheel, settled for second while Bax Of Life (Jason Brewer) came on for third.
Cedar Dove paid $4.30 to win as the bettors' choice. The four-year-old Andover Hall-Pine For Her mare, a runner-up in the Armbro Flight Stakes, notched her 10th career win and pushed her bankroll to $872,510. She is owned by Adam Victor And Son Stable of New York and John Fielding of Toronto.
The Miss Versatility Series, for female trotters three years old and up, will continue on August 17 at Meadowlands Racetrack, followed by another leg on August 26 at Tioga Downs. The $100,000 (est.) final will be contested on Little Brown Jug Day, September 20 at the Delaware Ohio County Fair.
Also during the Canada Day program, Mohawk Racetrack featured its first ever exhibition race for trotters under saddle. The one-mile non-wagering race was held between the third and fourth races with eight trotters and accompanying riders lining up behind the starting gate. Ive Got It All and Marielle Enberg won the event in 1:59.3.
Classic Belle (Eeva Paakkari) established the early lead over Youlneverwalkalone (Jenni Judin) and Its On My Tab (Anita Valstad) with Ive Got It All on the outside after a post eight start. Classic Belle posted an opening quarter of :29.2, but Youlneverwalkalone swept up to take over from the pocket and reached the half in :59.4. Youlneverwalkalone proceeded to three-quarters in 1:29.2 and maintained her lead into the stretch with Ive Got It All closing in on the outside. With the pressure mounting, Youlneverwalkalone made a break in deep stretch handing the victory to Ive Got It All.
Ive Got It All is a five-year-old son of Muscles Yankee, trained by Enberg for owners P Kleinhans Racing Inc. of Flemington, New Jersey and Luc Ouellette Incorporated of Campbellville, Ont.
The other competitors in the field included Dojea Mr Squishy (Maria Anderson), Come And Play (Marit Valstad), Rock Rico (Ondrej Gois), and Rate Exchange (Riina Rekila).
For recaps of Sunday's Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots for two-year-old pacing fillies, click here.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Mohawk Racetrack.