Ontario’s talented three-year-old pacing colts set the Hanover Raceway surface ablaze on Saturday night with a host of lightning fast Ontario Sires Stakes
Grassroots divisions, three of them engineered by Arthur, ON resident Trevor Henry.
A two-time winner of the Lampman Cup as the leading driver in the Ontario Sires Stakes program, Henry kicked off Saturday’s night’s Grassroots hat trick in the fourth race.
When the starting gate accelerated away from the colts in the second $24,000 division, Walkerton, ON native Randy Fritz had local colt Chapter in high gear from Post 1. The colt, owned by Bloomingwood Farms Ltd. of Harriston, ON battled tooth and nail through the first turn, before yielding the lead to Henry and Bandexter before the :27.3 opening quarter.
Once he reached the front, Henry backed the pace off and Bandexter cruised by the half in :57.1, then battled fan favourite P L Dangerous (Brad Forward) to a 1:25.2 three-quarters. Turning for home Bandexter had a one length advantage on P L Dangerous, but a good hustle down the stretch saw him open up a two length margin and hit the wire in a smart 1:55.1. The time of the mile lowered Three Doors Down's track record for three-year-old pacing geldings by one-fifth of a second and was just a tick off of the three-year-old pacing colt record. P L Dangerous settled for second, with Scotian Laddie (Scott Zeron) stepping into third.
Henry engineered the victory for trainer Wayne Lee and his partner Tracey Groen of Norwich, ON. The homebred son of Banner Yankee and Shadow Wilwin now boasts a sophomore record of three wins and one second in eight starts for earnings of $26,860. In the Grassroots season opener at Rideau Carleton Raceway on June 20, Bandexter suffered early interference and finished out of the money in sixth.
Employing the same front end strategy from the same post, Henry was back in the winner’s circle after the sixth race with the fan’s top choice Encore Seelster. The pair rolled through fractions of :28.1, :58.3 and 1:28 on their way to a one length victory in 1:56.4, besting Raging Grin (Joe Hudon, Jr.) and St Lads Dude (Scorr Zeron).
Grand Valley, ON resident James Ritchie conditions Encore Seelster for his partners Paul Ritchie of Orangeville, ON and Murray Cox of Rockwood, ON. The Western Maverick gelding has amassed an impressive record this season, with four wins and four seconds in 10 starts and earnings of $43,625. The win marked the gelding’s debut in the 2010 Ontario Sires Stakes program.
Henry’s third opportunity to smile for the Hanover Raceway photographer came after the ninth race.
Starting from Post 3, Henry eased Daleys Interest off the gate and dropped him into third as favourite Mister Russ (Simon Allard) led the field to a :28.1 opening quarter. Mister Russ maintained his position at the front of the pack en route to a :58.4 half, but Henry and Daleys Interest were shuffled back to sixth as challengers started to shift into the outer lane. Still sixth when Mister Russ hit the 1:27 three-quarters, and in only marginally better position turning for home, Henry carved out an opening in the stretch and urged Daleys Interest through the hole and on to a one and one-half length victory in 1:56.4. M G Home Run (Robert Shepherd) grabbed the second-place share, with Mister Russ hanging on for third.
Trained by Chad Milner of Denfield, ON for breeder Annmari Daley of Coral Springs, FL and her partners Richard Lombardo of Solon, ON and Jared Daley of Douglasville, GA, Daleys Interest has accumulated three wins and two seconds in 10 sophomore starts. Saturday’s victory bumped the Modern Art son’s sophomore earnings to $25,864. Fifth in the Grassroots season opener, the gelding now sports 55 points in the race for a post season berth.
The other Grassroots divisions went to Andy Baran (Paul MacKenzie) in 1:57; What The Sheik (Robert Shepherd) in 1:55.1; Modern Era (Simon Sllard) in 1:56.2 and Wellthereyougo (Dr. Ian Moore) in 1:55.4.
The three-year-old pacing colts make their third Grassroots start at Hiawatha Horse Park on July 29. Hanover Raceway’s next Ontario Sires Stakes event is Saturday, Aug. 14, when the popular half-mile oval rolls out the red carpet for the three-year-old trotting colts.
(With files from OSS)