TH Check Me Out turned heads with a track record performance in round three of the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Series for the three-year-old pacing fillies while pacing mare Lady Speaker joined her in the record books during Dresden Raceway's annual Harness the Hope Day program on Sunday, July 12.
Dropping from the Gold Series level, TH Check Me Out was a dominant Grassroots winner in 1:54.4, lowering the track record for three-year-old pacing fillies by two-fifths of a second. The former record was set by Macapelo Seelster in Grassroots action last August.
After a starter's recall in the fastest $30,000 division due to an equipment issue with one of the six fillies, take two got underway with TH Check Me Out charging to command ahead of inside leaver Amazing Addy (Austin Sorrie) at the :28.2 first quarter mark for regular reinsman Tyler Borth. The heavy 1-5 favourite then cruised through middle splits of :57.3 and 1:27 with no one able to reach her in a 1-3/4-length victory. Amazing Addy chased in second, with Shuri (Garrett Rooney) edging out the fading first-over filly, Bet On Jane (Todd Ratchford), for show.
Blake MacIntosh trains TH Check Me Out, who has earned $82,596 of her $195,672 career bankroll in OSS competition despite this being her first victory in the program. The Cattlewash-Sports Check miss sports a career record reading 5-3-2 in 21 races, with the majority of her starts in stakes races.
MacIntosh is part of the filly's ownership group, which also includes Ozzie Mackay of Moncton, N.B., Gilles Landry of Dieppe, N.B., and James Giannuzzi of Fayetteville, New York.
Bikini Seelster, driven by Jonathan Drury, also earned her first OSS victory as she crossed to command and went wire-to-wire in 1:57 in the earlier division after the favoured Kin Pace champion Mcbubbles (Tyler Borth) broke stride at the inside in the first turn and caused interference to the other starters. Teesha Seelster (Travis Henry) landed in the pocket after the early commotion and made late gains despite drifting out through the stretch but Bikini Seelster held on by three-quarters of a length. Samethingonydifrnt (Garrett Rooney) finished third after a first-over journey.
A runner-up in the last Grassroots leg one month ago at Woodbine Mohawk Park, Bikini Seelster was the 7-1 second choice in the field scratched down to five fillies. Shawn Steacy trains the Bulldog Hanover-Big Thong filly, who is now a three-time winner with more than $50,000 earned from 21 career starts, for owners Landmark 18 Racing Stable of Lansdowne, Ont., Hudson Standardbred Stable of Hudson, Que., Bertrand Gilhespy Stable of Lake Country, B.C., and Dan Mogridge of Coldwater, Ont.
Between the stakes action, Lady Speaker flashed track record speed with a 1:54.4 mile of her own in a $6,000 conditional optional claiming pace. The career-best clocking for the six-year-old Artspeak-Lady Mach mare is the fastest in Dresden history by an older pacing mare, besting the three-week-old record of Jewels Diamondeyes by three-fifths of a second.
Lady Speaker landed in fourth leaving from the outside post seven through a :28.1 opening quarter before driver Austin Sorrie sent her first-up through middle splits of :58.2 and 1:27 to match pacesetter All Bets On Red (Travis Henry) on the lead. Those two went head-to-head on top through the final turn with Lady Speaker pulling one length clear at the end for a 10-1 upset. All Bets On Red held second over the pocket-riding favourite, Woodmere Denver (Garrett Rooney), who surged alongside the runner-up just before the wire.
Trainer Jason Libby shares ownership of the winning mare, who was claimed for $18,750 three starts ago on June 20 at Hiawatha Horse Park, with Timothy Flynn of London, Ont., Douglas Dunbar of Woodstock, Ont., and Ronnie MacLean of Argyle Shore, P.E.I.
Dresden's Harness the Hope Day included contests and giveaways as part of the event to raise awareness for breast cancer.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Dresden Raceway.
(Standardbred Canada; photo of TH Check Me Out winning on July 12)