Adare Castle ($3.20) won her second Ontario Sires Stakes Gold event in as many tries by way of a 1:57.1 score on Wednesday (July 28) at Grand River Raceway, and, in the act, also shaved two-fifths of a second off the previous track, stakes and Canadian records for rookie trotting fillies around four turns.
Adare Castle inherited the third spot from a breaking Da Royal Miracle on the first turn of the $100,600 first Gold division (race three), and stalked comfortably while Lilys Lass and Trevor Henry controlled a :58.1 first half. With seven-sixteenths to go in the one-mile race, Bob McClure angled the daughter of Muscle Mass and Pacific Edge off the pegs, and she advanced steadily through the clubhouse turn before collaring Lilys Lass past three-quarters in 1:28.2 and edging clear steadily through the far turn. Much like she did in victory at Woodbine Mohawk Park on July 6, Adare Castle trotted her fastest quarter at the end of her mile, sprinting off in :28.4 to win by a steadily widening 6-3/4 lengths. Clockwork Orange (Jody Jamieson) escaped a collapsing pocket to save second; Needa Little Magic (Doug McNair) rallied mildly for third.
Adare Castle, owned by trainer Mark Etsell in partnership with Robert Newton, Graham Hopkins and Peter Porter, has earned $101,000 by way of her two Gold wins, the only two pari-mutuel starts of her career to date. Her 1:57.1 effort eclipsed the former divisional track record of 1:57.3, set by another Muscle Mass filly in Imextraspecial in 2020.
“Her win at Mohawk was so well in hand, I knew there was a lot left,” said McClure. “When Pat Hunt’s filly (Lilys Lass) got down to the half a little faster than I think they would have liked, I knew it set her up for a big mile, but I wasn’t chasing her for any records.”
In the $101,400 second division (race eight), Resolving ($75.90) made amends for a break in stride in her career debut, ironically ending up one of the only two fillies in the field of eight to remain on gait and winning by 11-1/4 lengths in 1:58.4 after a recall forced a reformation of the field.
Despite starting from post eight, the daughter of Resolve and Sunshinenlollipops inherited fourth on the first turn as half the field broke at the start of the race. After Classic Magic (Scott Young) rated a 1:00 first half but broke stride right at the bell, Trevor Henry angled Resolving first-over to challenge new leader Baby Longstocking (McNair) up the backstretch. Resolving put away that rival on her own before hitting three-quarters in 1:29.3, but her lead widened markedly when Baby Longstocking broke on the final turn. Say Something (Gino Toscani) inherited second, but was unable to close the sizeable gap through the final three-sixteenths of the mile. Pencils Down (Dustin Jones) recovered from an early break and was elevated to third after Angelonia (Tyler Moore) was disqualified for a breaking rule violation.
"She’s pretty level headed, so the recall I don’t think shook her up too much," said Rob Fellows, who trains Resolving for Yolanda Fellows, Blair Corbeil and Edward Wilson. "She landed in and just stayed trotting, and Trevor just moved her out and let her trot good in the straightaways and she was good. It’s nice when the plan works.
"She’s tall, good-looking, doesn’t carry a lot of extra weight, which will kind of lean me toward not racing her too much in the heat of the summer, but she’s very well mannered."
Complete results from Wednesday's card are available via the following link: Wednesday Results – Grand River Raceway.
(with quotes from the Ontario Sires Stakes)