Grand River Raceway’s Ontario Sires Stakes season got off to a quick start on Friday, July 16 as Fuzzy Angel rocketed around the Elora oval to a 1:56.3 victory in the first $22,150 three-year-old trotting filly Grassroots division.
Starting from Post 4, driver Jody Jamieson fired Fuzzy Angel away from the start and reached the quarter-pole in :28.1. The filly opened up a six length margin on the field by the :57.3 half and had extended her lead to 10 lengths by the 1:26.3 three-quarters. From there Jamieson shifted Fuzzy Angel into cruise and the fan favourites sailed home seven length winners over A Blue Blood and Stonebridge Strong.
“She was awesome today, boy. I don’t know what the track record is there, but she was trotting around there so good maybe she could have done something about it today,” said Jamieson, who drives the filly for trainer Blake MacIntosh of St. George, ON and Hutt Racing Stable of Malvern, PA. “She’s such a half-mile specialist. Too bad they’re not all on the half-mile tracks for her, because she can trot the turns so well.”
Guelph, ON resident Jamieson piloted Fuzzy Angel to a track record effort in the Grassroots season opener, circling Clinton Raceway in 1:58.4 on July 4. The Archangel daughter was four-fifths of a second shy of the Grand River Raceway speed mark.
Jamieson was back in the winner’s circle after the second division, taking another front-end tour with Pixies Lady. From Post 1 the duo clocked fractions of :27.4, :57.3 and 1:26.4 on their way to a 1:57.1 victory. Top Of The Bar finished four and one-half lengths behind the favourite in second and All Muscle N Sass was two more lengths back in third.
“She got a little tired tonight, but I let her trot the third quarter pretty hard to make sure there was nobody chasing us down to get the win,” said Jamieson. “That’s a big mile tonight too, 1:57.1.”
Susanne Kerwood trains Pixies Lady for M And L Of Delaware LLC of Wilmington, DE and the Acton, ON resident spent a significant amount of time working with the Muscle Mass daughter after her July 1 start in the Gold Series. The filly dragged Jamieson to a :55.1 half before running out of steam and fading to ninth.
“She won two starts ago in a maiden in 1:55.4 (June 24) and was controllable, and then she wasn’t controllable her last start (July 1). Susie’s done a heck of a job to get her back where I can drive her and make her do what I want to do,” said Jamieson. “You can steer her and things like that, but when she sees the starting gate she kind of loses her mind.”
Edgewater was behind Pixies Lady in that high speed half on July 1 and did not enjoy the experience, leading her to Post 6 in the third Grassroots division on Friday night. Like the other two winners, Edgewater went straight to the front, rang up fractions of :29.2, :59.3 and 1:28 and sprinted home a three and one-quarter length winner in 1:56.4. Lifeintheslammer finished second and Fortune Tellers K was well back in third. Favourite Radical J J made an early break that took her out of the action.
Rick Zeron of Oakville trains and drives Edgewater for his co-owner Jim Walker of Port Perry, ON and said the Kadabra daughter is finally delivering the results he always expected from her.
“When she was two she was my best trotting filly in Florida and she got sick on her way back from Florida. She lost a ton of weight and I could never get her to put the weight and muscle tone back on, which in turn ruined her two-year-old year,” said Zeron. “What she is now is what she would have been at two. Everything I wanted her to do tonight she did. She leaves the gate like a pacer, she gets you out of trouble, makes the driver more comfortable, I can’t say enough about the filly, she just did everything beyond what I thought she would do tonight. I was very, very happy with her, and I am more happy for Jim Walker to get one to have a little bit of fun with.”
The final Grassroots division went to Muscle Mass daughter Tipsy In Dixie, who controlled the pace from Post 1 for driver Mario Baillargeon and trotted under the wire in 1:57.3 off fractions of :29.1, :58 and 1:28. Doing It All finished one and three-quarter lengths back in second and Exclusive Rosette was third.
“I could see right away that I could control the race so went to the front, and got pushed a little bit in the second quarter, but then after that it was a breeze,” said Baillargeon of the fan favourite. “She’s such an easy filly, she’s like an old trotting mare really. You could drive her with two shoelaces. Anybody would have looked good driving that filly tonight.”
Baillargeon tipped his hat to trainer Harry Poulton and the whole team involved with Tipsy In Dixie, who is owned by the 15 members of TheStable.ca Tipsy In Dixie of Guelph, ON and Hutchison Harness LLC of North Ridgeville, OH.
The $7,000 three-year-old trotting filly Prospect Series division went to Iona Dream, who went gate-to-wire from Post 2 in a personal best 2:00.4 for driver Paul Mackenzie, trainer Terry Gallant and owner Triple S Equine of Newton, ON. E L Miss Ellie was second and The Last Dance finished third.
The three-year-old trotting fillies make their third Grassroots start at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Aug. 12 while the Prospect Series head for Clinton Raceway on Aug. 8.
Next up on Grand River Raceway’s Ontario Sires Stakes schedule are the two-year-old pacing colts, who will battle in their second Grassroots Leg on Monday, July 19.
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To view results for Friday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Friday Results – Grand River Raceway.