Three-year-old trotting colts and geldings were out in full force at Grand River Raceway on Monday as the Elora half-miler hosted nine OSS Grassroots divisions.
Duke Of Vegas was a wire-to-wire winner in his $24,000 division for driver Steve Byron, who chopped out fractions of :29.2, :59 and 1:29.3 before using a :30.1 final panel to seal the deal in 1:59.4 with the John Bax pupil.
The son of Duke Of York-Kristalvagen is a homebred owned by Keith Gibson of Lower Hutt, NZ. After an 0-for-7 rookie campaign the gelding has put together a 2-2-1 record from nine trips to the track this season. The $12,000 payday increased his cash stash to $33,060.
Our Mojo used come-from-behind tactics to take home his second OSS Grassroots trophy of the season for trainer Mike Keeling. Ross Battin engineered the 2:01.2 victory with the gelding, who defeated J M Deception and House Money.
The Caveator Stable of Hamilton, ON owns the son of Kadabra-Got Sno Socks. After going winless in five starts last season, the trotter has bounced back this year by putting together a 2-2-1 record in his first eight assignments of the year. His share of the $24,000 purse lifted his overall earnings to $42,625.
Longshot players cleaned up in the division thanks to Deck The Halls, who front-stepped to a 29-1 upset win in 2:00.4 for trainer/driver Sylvain Lacaille. He sent the colt right to the lead from Post 8, and after slicing out fractions of :30, 1:01.1 and 1:31.3 the sophomore kicked home in :29.1 to defeat Northern Escort and Cut Him Loose.
Reve Avec Moi Dreamwithme of Grand Valley, ON owns the son of Angus Hall-Bourbon Belle, who is now 2-for-2 this season after failing to win in his lone rookie start. The lightly-raced campaigner has banked $16,250 to date.
Cool Creek Magic rallied from out of the clouds to take home top prize in his $24,000 assignment, and that was music to the ears of the backers who sent the gelding off as the 4-5 favourite. Robert Shepherd, who was last at the quarter and eighth at the half with the Kevin O’Reilly trainee, hustled his charge around horses on the final turn and then used a :29.2 final frame to win by a half-length margin over Dalglish in 2:01.1. Taking home third prize was the tempo-setting Conway Garre.
Aristi Varsakis of Hamilton, ON owns the son of Kadabra-Silky Celine who now boasts a 5-0-1 record from eight trips to the track this season. The six-time winner has banked more than $30,000 to date.
Chief Zuma was a popular winner in his division, winning as the 4-5 choice in 2:00.3 for the tandem of driver Scott Coulter and trainer Chance Stewart. The son of Striking Sahbra-Annandale clocked panels of :29, :59.2 and 1:30.2 before using his :30.1 closing speed to seal the deal over Mutinyonthebounty and Musical Prince.
Audrey Dumont of Brinston, ON and Yves Sarrazin of La Presentation, QC share ownership on the two-time winner, who upped his lifetime earnings to $11,267 with the victory.
Call Me Hanover came under pressure in the late stages of his division, but the colt dug in and completed the front-stepping mission in a time of 1:59.4 for driver Maria Flink. The son of Kadabra-Chiptease supplied splits of :29.3, 1:00.4 and 1:30.4 before kicking home in a :29-second clip to fend off Magical Victory and race favourite Ill Be There.
Trainer Tommy Anderson of Grand Valley, ON co-owns the four-time winner with Courant Ab of Halmstad, SW. Unraced as a rookie, Call Me Hanover is now 4-for-5 this season. He has banked more than $35,000 to date.
Hero Of My Dreams pulled off the shocker of the night when he staged a come-from-behind score at odds of 119-1 for driver Billy Davis, Jr. The son of Angus Hall-Victory Dreamer got up in the closing strides to defeat the 1-9 favourite, Touchdown Toss, in 1:59.1. Hallucination, who carved out fractions of :29, :59.1 and 1:28.3, was third.
Trainer Rob Fellows shares ownership on the colt with Willard Sabrosky, and together they watched the trotter win for the first time this season and for the second time in his career. He’s banked more than $25,000 in eight lifetime starts.
Somebody As played – and won – a game of “catch me if you can” in his division. Billy Davis, Jr. hustled the Anette Lorentzon pupil to the lead from Post 5 and the gelding supplied speed splits of :29, 1:00 and 1:29.1 before kicking home in a :29-second clip for the 1:58.1 triumph. The Northern Dude was next best, with Gus Is All Lane rounding out the top three finishers.
The son of Striking Sahbra-Noblesse As is a homebred owned by ACL Stuteri Ab of Paris, KY. He was unraced during his freshman season, but he’s managed to assemble a 3-1-1 record in five starts this year. He’s stashed away $23,110 in the process.
The Bronx Bumper took home the hardware in the final division for the tandem of driver Scott Coulter and trainer Rob Fellows. The gelding rallied to win in 1:59.4 over Windsong Ingenius, with race favourite Southwind Cornell and Northern Kingdom finishing in a dead heat for third.
The son of Ken Warkentin-Carolina Hall, who is owned by John Wagner of Centerville, MD, didn’t race last season but he’s already put together a 4-1-0 record from his first eight trips to the track this season. The $12,000 payday lifted his lifetime earnings to $25,275.
To view results for Monday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Monday Results – Grand River Raceway.