Woodbine Mohawk Park was inundated with Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Gold action on Sunday, July 19 as three splits carried over from previous cancelled programs joined two Gold dashes scheduled for the 12-race card.
Strobe Lite posted his second Gold victory of the year, winning the lone $150,000 third-leg event for three-year-old male trotters. The race, originally scheduled for Friday, was moved to Race 12 on Sunday after poor air quality forced the cancellation of the Friday’s card.
With regular pilot James MacDonald departing early to drive at Vernon Downs (and win the Zweig Memorial), Strobe Lite, the 2-5 favourite, was driven to the 1:52.4 victory by Jody Jamieson.
Toss Of The Dice (Trevor Henry) led the 10-horse field to the :28.1 opening quarter, but second-choice Touchedbyanangel (Doug McNair) rolled to the front soon after. He was on the engine to the :57.1 half, but Jamieson had Strobe Lite on the move from fourth seconds later. Touchedbyanangel remained in command through the 1:24.4 three-quarters, but in the lane, Strobe Lite powered past him to a 2-1/2-length victory. Toss Of The Dice was third.
Strobe Lite, who won the second Gold leg in a 1:52.2 career-best mile on June 21 at Mohawk, notched his second straight win in the series on Sunday. He won his OSS Super Final and received O'Brien Award honours at two and now has earnings of $667,328 lifetime. He is 6-7-4 in 19 career starts and 3-4-1 in eight 2026 outings. The gelded son of Alarm Detector out of Shine Bright is trained by Ben Baillargeon of Guelph, Ont., who shares Strobe Lite’s papers with the trotter’s breeder, Glengate Farms of Erin, Ont., plus Claude Hamel of Orford, Que. and Nunzio Vena of Bolton, Ont. Strobe Lite paid $2.90 to win.
Before the main card, Gogo Gadget and Atlas Ross both remained undefeated through three career starts while winning their respective $100,000 Gold second-leg divisions for two-year-old pacing colts and geldings. The races were held as non-betting events after being rescheduled from the Saturday card that was cancelled due to poor air quality.
In the first division, Gogo Gadget posted the second Gold victory of his young career with a lifetime-best 1:52 win orchestrated by driver Jonathan Drury for trainer Kyle Bossence.
Yes I Am Hanover (McNair) led the field of six through fractions of :27, :55.3 and 1:24.1. Gogo Gadget took control just before the top of the stretch and held off a late charge from the other leg-one Gold winner, Th Benedict (James MacDonald), by three-quarters of a length. Meetmeonthebeach (Louis-Philippe Roy) was third.
Gogo Gadget, a son of Betting Line out of Jk Getupngo, has earnings of $110,000 for owner Tamara Vandewiel of Arthur, Ont. He was bred by Jessica Kulcher of Guelph, Ont.
In the second division, McNair drove Atlas Ross to a career-best 1:51.3 victory in the Big Jim-Kisskissbangbang colt’s Gold debut.
Atlas Ross sat fourth through much of the mile in the field of six. First Kerplunk (Roy), and then Wheels Up (Mark MacDonald) led the field through fractions of :26.4, :55.3 and 1:24. In the lane, Atlas Ross powered past his foes to win by a half-length over Totally Tyler (Bob McClure). Stampede (Trevor Henry) was third.
The victory came two weeks after Atlas Ross won his $30,000 OSS Grassroots division on July 5 at Mohawk for trainer Gregg McNair and owners James and Elizabeth Ross of Wingham, Ont. The colt was bred by Ashley and Dean Wilson of Kerwood, Ont. and sold for $25,000 at the London Classic Yearling Sale. He has earned $67,550.
Twin B Mayreau and Money Carlo, winners in the first Gold leg on July 3, both scored repeat victories in the $100,000 second-round contests for two-year-old pacing fillies on Sunday's pari-mutuel card.
Odds-on favourite Twin B Mayreau (Tyler Jones) posted a wire-to-wire victory in the six-horse first-division field to remain undefeated through two career starts.
Jones had Twin B Mayreau firing out of post six and on top early, followed by Lyons Flurry (Louis-Philippe Roy), Twin B Copacabana (Mark MacDonald) and Jersey Bulldog (Bob McClure). That remained the order through the :28.1 opening quarter and the :57.1 half before McClure made his move with Jersey Bulldog heading towards three-quarters in 1:24.1. Twin B Mayreau dug in down the stretch and held off a hard-closing Jersey Bulldog by a half-length in 1:52.1. Lyons Flurry completed the ticket.
Twin B Mayreau, a daughter of Cattlewash out of Olivia Mcskywalker, was bred by Jenna McNiven of Embro, Ont. and is owned by Ecurie CSL of Sorel-Tracy, Que. Francis Dumouchel trains the $47,000 London sale purchase, who has earned $100,000 from her two-for-two record. The win price was $2.60.
“She's always been a nice filly, but she's never been one that really stood out,” Dumouchel told Woodbine broadcaster John Rallis. “She never did anything wrong, but until they hit the races, you don’t know how much speed they have. She’s a sweetheart in the barn, but sometimes those sweethearts in the barn, they don't have that fight in the race. But turns out she does.”
In the second filly division, the 9-5 second choice Money Carlo dug deep in the stretch to hold off a game Waves Of Fortune by a half-length in a career-best 1:51.1
Waves Of Fortune led the seven-filly field through the opening quarter in :27.4, but McClure had Money Carlo out and rolling soon after and was on top through the :55.4 half and the 1:23.3 three-quarters. In the lane, Money Carlo looked to pull away, but Mark MacDonald mounted a serious charge with Waves Of Fortune. Those two crossed swords to the wire, with Money Carlo hanging on for the victory. Qued Up (Tyler Borth) closed for show.
“[Money Carlo] just fights really hard,” McClure said on the Mohawk broadcast. “She's got a lot of class… she just digs right to the wire. And she's very smart in the race. Once you get everything settled, she knows what her job is, and so far she's doing a great job at it.”
Money Carlo, perfect in two career starts, is a daughter of Bulldog Hanover out of Shes Some Treasure. Dr. Ian Moore trains the $243,056 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale buy for Brad Grant of Milton, Ont. The filly, bred by Steve Jones of Montgomery, N.Y., has a $100,000 bankroll. She paid $5.60 to win.
“Brad Grant, a proud local owner, bought her and another filly at Lexington sale last fall,” Moore said. “He called me up and said, ‘I hope you have some room for them,' and I said, ‘We sure do.’ It’s the first time I've had horses for Brad and it’s nice to have some success with [Money Carlo]. She has a stablemate that is training back now. We had to stop with her a little bit. She's a pretty nice filly also. So, we're looking forward to her coming on later in the summer.”
Four $30,000 OSS Grassroots divisions for rookie pacing fillies complemented the Sunday Golds.
Silk Lace ($4.30) opened the action with a 1:53.1 front-end victory with Jody Jamieson in the bike for trainer Carl Jamieson. She scored by 1-1/2 lengths over Effective Control (Tyler Jones) with Santorini Seelster (Daryl Thiessen) third. The win was the first in the OSS for the daughter of Cattlewash-Lasting Appeal.
Diamondsbestfriend ($9.50) captured the second split off a second-quarter brush for Jamieson and trainer Jack Darling. The Bulldog Hanover-Yellow Diamond filly, also taking her first OSS victory, held off Cupcakesontuesday (Doug McNair) by a half-length in 1:53. Allstar Betternblk (Tyler Borth) was third.
The Bulldog Hanover-Ava Hanover filly Lyons Bulldog ($2.20) followed up her debut Grassroots score with a 1:52.2 victory in the third split on Sunday. Mark MacDonald had the lines of the Dr. Ian Moore trainee and oversaw a 2-3/4-length victory over Island Girl (Jody Jamieson). Canadian Blondes (Roy) rallied for show.
In This Moment ($9.90) completed the Grassroots competition with a half-length, 1:53.3 score over a surging Bulldog Belle (Mark MacDonald). Baby Jane (Doug McNair) was third. Roy steered the Control The Moment-Amulet Seelster filly to victory for trainer Zach Carroll.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(With files from Ontario Racing; photo of Money Carlo winning on July 19)