Two-year-old trotting fillies were out in full force Thursday evening at Woodbine Mohawk Park, and driver Jody Jamieson had the hot hands when it came to handling the youngsters.
He didn’t win the first division, however, that contest went to driver Sylvain Filion and the undefeated Warrawee Vicky in a sparkling clocking of 1:55.4.
Warrawee Vicky battled with Jula Shes Magic and Jasmine Volo to the quarter pole in :28.1 before getting those two foes to back off and get seated on the rail. From there, the odds-on favourite rolled through middle fractions of :57 and 1:26 before using a :29.4 closing quarter to win by 3-1/2 lengths over Intense Justice. Taking home the show dough was She Must Be Magic.
Scott McEneny recently took over the training on the daughter of Royalty For Life-The Tall Poppy following a private purchase by owner Brad Grant of Milton, Ont.
“She looked like she’s getting a little hot,” said trainer Scott McEneny of the mile, the fastest by a two-year-old trotter in Canada this season. “He didn’t want to fight with her too much because she gets jolting her head a little bit, so he kind of just let her roll and thought she might settle down once they got in a hole, but she got a little wound up.
“She’s a very nice filly, she’s not too big, she’s not too small. Clean-legged and everything,” added McEneny. “She’s just a little sweetheart in the barn. Robbie did a great job with her.”The rookie now owns a 3-for-3 record and a bankroll that stands at just over $50,000 thanks to her victory in her $73,867 assignment.
Jamieson clicked with Massive Flirt in the $73,867 second division in a time of 1:58.1.
Sent off as the 1-2 favourite, the daughter of Muscle Mass-Frosty Flirt got away fifth before moving up on cover on the way to the half. Instant Karma and She Started It took turns on the lead through panels of :29 and 1:00.3, but Massive Flirt took over at the three-quarter pole in 1:29.4 and then powered home in :28.2 to win by 3-1/4 lengths over She Rocks Kemp in 1:58.1. Shape Shifter came on strong to nab third prize.
Trainer Jeff Gillis co-owns the homebred with Mac Nichol of Burlington, Ont.
“So far, so good. I’m very pleased with her,” said Jeff Gillis. “She seems to be very honest and really enjoys her work, and those are pretty good attributes when you’ve got some ability to go along with it.
“She progressed very nicely. She was always a big filly, but didn’t always just reek of athleticism the way she does now, so I am very happy with the way she’s developed,” added Gillis. “I think on top of being well prepared by Steve Elliott, she’s got a lot of intelligence about her too, and that goes a long way in the early going with early trotters.”
The partners have watched her win twice in as many attempts while banking over $44,000. She took a lifetime mark of 1:57.2 in her debut performance.
P L Nikita was the lone upsetter in Thursday’s round of stakes, and she did so for the duo of driver Jody Jamieson and trainer Rod Hughes.
Sent off at odds of 10-1, the daughter of E L Titan-P L Blue Opal got away third and held that position for the first three-quarters of the mile. During that time, Validation and the parked out Alakazam Angel were at each other’s throats through fractions of :29.2, :58.3 and 1:28.1. P L Nikita swept past the pair of them late and her :30.2 closing quarter was enough to win by 1-1/4 lengths over Talahasse Seelster in 1:59. Alexa Blue Chip rounded out the Trifecta ticket in the $74,666 affair.
“Massive Flirt is pretty damn flawless. She went about her business like an aged horse tonight and really didn’t get stressed throughout. P L Nikita was a nice surprise. I picked her up at scratch time and got a great trip,” said Jamieson of his Gold Series winners. “It’s nice when you pick a horse up like her that trots so nice and has a great attitude.”
Bred and owned by Prince Lee Acres of Uxbridge, Ont., P L Nikita made her pari-mutuel debut a winning one. She stashed away more than $37,000 for her efforts.
Hall of Fame reinsman Doug Brown guided Vanilla Malted to a 12-1 upset in an overnight in Race 7, and in doing so the pacer extended his winning streak to five-in-a-row for trainer John MacMillan and co-owner 2099551 Ontario Inc.
The three-year-old son of Sweet Lou-Sun N Moon went 0-for-3 last season, but now owns a 7-1-0 record from 11 trips to the track this year.
(With quotes from OSS)
To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results – Woodbine Mohawk Park.