Stormont Magenta and Stormont Violet passed their first Ontario Sires Stakes test with flying colours, giving trainer Kevin Benn and owner-breeder Stormont Meadows a double in the first leg of the Grassroots for two-year-old trotting fillies at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Thursday, July 9.
Stormont Magenta was the victim of a massive last-turn shuffle but rallied down the lane to an eye-catching victory in the second $30,000 division. Louis-Philippe Roy bided his time in the pocket with the filly past a :30 first-quarter before circling Perfect Loop (Todd Ratchford) on the backstretch to lead to the midway point in 1:01.2. He allowed the brushing Dromoland Castle (Bob McClure) to take over at the entry to the final turn, but that rival released Georgia Bluffs (Doug McNair), Th Francesca (Mark MacDonald) advanced first-over and Perfect Loop slid out onto her cover, and Stormont Magenta found herself fifth at three-quarters in 1:29.4.
Roy set to work overcoming the deficit at the top of the stretch, tipping his filly out as Dromoland Castle broke stride, leaving three foes to track down in the final eighth of a mile. Stormont Magenta flew in deep-stretch, vaulting past her opponents on the outside with a :27.1 final panel to prevail by a half-length in 1:58.1. Th Francesca was second, followed by Perfect Loop.
Stormont Magenta, a half-sister to 2025 O’Brien Award winner Stormont Beautiful, won her debut in a contest for rookie trotting fillies prior to Thursday’s victory. The homebred daughter of Muscle Mass-Stormont Fried is now two-for-two with $25,000 in earnings for Eric Baker’s Long Sault, Ont.-based operation. She paid $4.30 to win.
Stormont Violet closed a fifth of a second faster than her stablemate as she rolled to an open-length victory in the third division. She raced third for Roy as Diamondofdnorth (Doug McNair) led a single-file group to the quarter in :30 and half in 1:02. Action started as Miss Molley Two (Travis Henry) ranged up from sixth on the final turn and tipped three-wide when she flushed out pocket-sitter Dreamtrade (Bob McClure) nearing three-quarters in 1:32.2. With those two off the cones, Stormont Violet shot up the inside under little encouragement from Roy and trotted off to win by 3-3/4 lengths in 2:00. Miss Molley Two finished second. Dreamtrade crossed the line third on a break and while lapped on with Bearded Lady (Matt Bax), which resulted in the latter being elevated to the show spot.
Stormont Violet scored in her debut following a sixth-place finish in a Mohawk qualifier, timed in 2:02.1. The Alarm Detector filly is the first starter out of Stormont Contessa and has now earned $15,000. She returned an $8 mutuel.
Green Silverado ($5.30) won the first and fastest Grassroots split, brushing to the top down the backstretch and soaring away by six lengths for driver James MacDonald and owner-trainer Matthew Trelford of Mildmay, Ont. The daughter of Green Manalishi S-Little Red Chev stopped the clock in 1:55.2.
Houstonweavaproblm ($11.50) pushed first-up into the final turn for Tyler Jones and maintained her momentum down the lane to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:57. Mark Etsell trains the daughter of Muscle Mass-Melanie G for Duncan Brewer of Waterdown, Ont., Randell Urquhart of Hamilton, Ont. and Steve Deady of Paris, Ont.
To view Thursday’s harness racing results, click the following link: Thursday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(Standardbred Canada; photo of Stormont Violet winning on July 9)