Nick Gallucci stablemates Silver Label and Prohibition Legal finished just heads apart in Woodbine Mohawk Park's co-featured $36,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred Pace on Saturday, July 27 as they prepped for next weekend's Lady Liberty Stakes.
Coming off a pair of Preferred wins in early July, Tells On A Roll set out to try to make it three in a row for Travis Cullen. She led the field of a half dozen distaffers through a :26.4 first quarter and :56.1 half with Prohibition Legal and Louis-Philippe Roy forwardly placed early in the pocket and Doug McNair on the move first-up in rein to 1-2 favourite Silver Label from fourth heading into the final turn.
Silver Label confronted Tells On A Roll at three-quarters in 1:24.2 and they continued to battle all the way down the stretch with Prohibition Legal shaking loose late to join in the fight to the finish. In the end, Silver Label prevailed in 1:51 by a head over the late-flying Prohibition Legal, with Tells On A Roll a game third, just half a length back.
"I was really impressed with both their efforts tonight. They both showed what they needed to show," commented Gallucci.
Owned and bred by Millar Farms, the O'Brien Award-winning Gallucci gals are headed stateside to The Meadowlands for their next assignment in the Lady Liberty on the massive Hambletonian Day stakes card next Saturday, Aug. 3.
Silver Label, who entered Mohawk's Preferred off back-to-back top three finishes in the Perfect Sting and Dorothy Haughton at The Big M, is the Lady Liberty defending champion courtesy of her 1:47.3 stakes record-equalling triumph in last year's edition.
The five-year-old daughter of Bettors Delight out of Hidden Gem now boasts 23 career wins and a bankroll topping the $1.5 million mark.
Prohibition Legal, a millionaire daughter of Big Jim out of Catch A Wish, will be making her Meadowlands debut.
Later on the card, Jabberwocky slipped through a seam at the pylons to emerge as the 13-1 upset winner in a five-across finish in the $36,000 Preferred Pace.
Driver Trevor Henry worked out a ground-saving trip for Jabberwocky and shot up the pylons late to best a five-wide Whichwaytothebeach in the win photo and halt that foe's win streak at four.
After 2-1 favourite Write Me A Rose (Doug McNair) pocketed outside leaver Whichwaytothebeach (Sylvain Filion) through a :26.1 opening quarter, Stockade Seelster (Louis-Philippe Roy) swept to command on the way to the half in :54.2.
As Stockade Seelster continued to show the way to three-quarters in 1:22, American History (Dale Spence) advanced first-over with Whichwaytothebeach tipping on his back when a gap opened in the outer flow turning for home.
Meanwhile, Jabberwocky had followed in seventh and was able to advance up the inside into contention as his rivals swung to the outside.
Stockade Seelster held a short lead down the stretch with American History closing in and Whichwaytothebeach rallying off his cover while Write Me A Rose closed up the inside with Jabberwocky skimming the pylons late. Those five raced to the finish, with Jabberwocky coming through for the 1:49.1 victory by a nose.
Jabberwocky, who just missed by a neck in his last Preferred match-up with Whichwaytothebeach on July 13, paid $29.40 for the upset. Stockade Seelster snagged the show dough while American History was fourth and Write Me A Rose was fifth.
The win was Jabberwocky's third in 18 starts this year and 13th victory lifetime, leaving him just shy of the $300,000 earnings mark. Rick Zeron trains the five-year-old Hes Watching-Art Sale gelding for his Rick Zeron Stables and co-owners James Walker, John Donato and Earn It To Burn It Stable.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(Standardbred Canada)