Village Janus rocketed around the Dresden Raceway oval on Wednesday evening to the fastest clocking of the four $24,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots divisions
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In rein to Don Rankin Jr., the two-year-old pacing filly eased away from Post 5 and settled into fifth as Look Cheap (Robert Shepherd) and Pockets Of Gold (Dsve Wall) vied for top spot heading for a :29.3 opening quarter. As Look Cheap carried on to a :58.4 half, Rankin sent Village Janus up the outside and the fan favourite made steady progress toward the leaders, moving into third before the 1:29.2 three-quarters.
Unleashing a powerful finishing kick, Village Janus had moved into second spot by the time the fillies turned for home and then rolled down the stretch to a quarter length victory in 1:58.3. Look Cheap settled for second with Pocket Of Gold rounding out the triactor.
Trainer Rod Therres of Surrey, BC and Larry Schmidt of Abbotsford, BC share ownership on Village Janus, a daughter of Modern Art and Village Jest who was a $21,000 acquisition from last fall’s Canadian Open Yearling Sale. The pair have already made a tidy deposit against the filly’s purchase price; in addition to her Grassroots victory, Village Janus captured a two-year-old filly conditioned event at Mohawk Racetrack on July 9 in a snappy 1:55.1 and currently boasts a bankroll of $20,000.
Lyons Susan also employed a patient, come from behind strategy to score a 2:01.3 victory in the third Grassroots division. The Camluck miss and driver Robert Shepherd started from the outside Post 7 and were sitting seventh when Royal Cover Up (Ted Jacobs) reached the quarter pole in :29.2. Shepherd opted for the outer lane heading for the 1:00.4 half and then circled out three-wide at the 1:32 three-quarters to take the lead around the final turn.
Fan favourite Lyons Susan maintained her quick tempo down the stretch and sailed under the wire a three and one-half length victor in 2:01.3. Just Artful, owned by trainer-driver Gregory Drew of Merlin, ON also came on from the back field to secure the runner-up share of the $24,000 purse, while Synergy Seelster (Gene Piroski) survived a parked out trip to earn third-place honours.
A $50,000 purchase out of the Forest City Yearling Sale, Lyons Susan is owned by Geoffrey Lyons Mound of Burford, ON and trained by Darren McCall.
Chappies Girl delivered an identical clocking of 2:01.3 to capture her division, but driver Robert Sparling Jr. took a slightly different route to the winner’s circle. The Mossley, ON resident hustled the Life Sign daughter away from the starting gate and sat briefly in third before moving on to the outside track. Chappies Girl pressured pacesetter Underground Queen (Terry Fritz) through the 1:00.3 half and 1:32 three-quarters, hung tough around the turn and then pulled away to a one length victory.
Sauble Louise (Brad Forward) attempted to steer three-wide around Chappies Girl at the three-quarters, but could advance no further than second. Favourite Underground Queen held her ground against a charging Kisses N Kicks to capture third spot.
Paul Chapman of Dorchester, ON bred, owns and trains Chappies Girl, who prepped for her Grassroots debut with a fifth-place finish at Dresden on July 7.
Lucky Taryn was the only filly to opt for a front end strategy in Wednesday’s Grassroots battle, leading through all stations on her way to a 2:03.1 victory over Smile Cam (Brad Forward) and Geneva Seelster (Don Rankin, Jr.).
Doug McNair piloted the fan favourite to the victory for trainer Louie Eftimiadis and owner-breeder Gerald Mijal of Westland, Michigan. Lucky Taryn also battled in the July 9 overnight event at Mohawk, finishing fifth behind Village Janus with a 1:56 effort that saw the daughter of Mach Three and Lucky Kathy pace home in :27.
The two-year-old pacing fillies make their second Grassroots start at Grand River Raceway on August 11, while Dresden Raceway hosts its third Ontario Sires Stakes event on Monday, September 6. Dresden will wrap up its OSS season with Grassroots divisions for the two-year-old trotting fillies.
To view Wednesday’s results, click here.
(With files from OSS)