Alicorn tasted defeat in her first two appearances, but her third kick at the can produced a record-setting performance in the first of two OSS Gold Series divisions Friday evening at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
After racing from out of the clouds last week and finishing a fast-closing fourth, Louis Philippe Roy opted to press forward off the gate with Alicorn. She took an early tuck into the three-hole while Watchful Eye rolled the group past the opening quarter in :26.4. Roy was on the move just before they entered the backstretch, and Alicorn quickly marched to the lead.
It was a short-lived lead, however, as race favourite Free Flyin Ticket powered off the rail from fourth and sprinted to the lead. She proceeded to lead the field through middle panels of :54.4 and 1:23.1, but she was overtaken by Alicorn at the head of the lane and that filly motored home in :27.3 to win by 1-3/4 lengths over Karma Seelster. Off The Press was third.
“Obviously you can’t race a horse like that every single week, but I always felt she had that desire in her, and I think she’s got no quit by the looks of it,” said trainer Chantal Mitchell. “I never thought she’d have to face 1:51 already, but it is what it is.
“We took a couple weeks just to get her adjusted to her new surroundings and put her in a qualifier (June 21)," added Mithcell. "Even after training her the first time you could just feel that she was a nice filly, but when she qualified you could see that she just has that grit in her, she wants to beat them all. She’s super relaxed, a very nice horse to be around, but when you turn her in and it’s time to train her and it’s time to race, she knows what her job is.”
The daughter of Bettors Delight-Mythical now owns a 1-1-0 record from three tries for owners Robert Muscara and Windemere Stable LLC. The 1:51 clocking erased the former OSS record of 1:51.2 for two-year-old pacing fillies. That standard had been held jointly by L A Delight (2015) and Thatsoveryverynice (2015). The clocking also makes Alicorn the fastest freshman – regardless of sex – in North America this season.
Martinis Place used off-the-pace tactics to capture the second division in 1:53 for driver Mike Saftic.
He got away sixth with Martinis Place while Mach My Kiss cut the opening quarter in :27 before Temagami Seelster and All Day Sunshine took turns on the lead in backstretch.
Race favourite All Day Sunshine took the group through middle splits of :55.4 and 1:24.3 before coming under attack. Martinis Place was tracking cover to the head of the lane before unleashing a :27.2 closing quarter which propelled her to the one-length win over Temagami Seelster. All Day Sunshine was third.
“She’s just a little sweetheart of a horse. I don’t have huge expectations for her, but she just seems like something that is going to learn to be a fast horse and an easy keeper,” said trainer John Pentland. “She’s just this little push button horse that anybody would have done good with.
“She reminded me a whole lot of Powerful Chris," he added. "Had a lot of the same conformation, the same colour, same kind of head. She wasn’t as big, I naively thought she would grow a lot and she hasn’t. She’s never going to be a big strong thing like Chris I don’t think, but I mean that said, she’s not a tiny horse.”
Pentland shares ownership on the daughter of Betterthancheddar-Victorias Place with Ellie Bale of Guelph, Ont. They shelled out $24,000 for the filly from last year’s London Select Yearling Sale. She’s banked over $71,000 to date.
To view results for Friday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Friday Results – Woodbine Mohawk Park.