The second leg of the Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Grassroots series featured five divisions on Saturday (July 29) at Kawartha Downs, with Colin Kelly and Isaac Waxman sharing the spotlight on the 11-race card.
Kelly held the hottest hands of the night winning five races — two of those wins came in OSS action, and another two helped Waxman to a three-win training performance.
The night started and ended well for Kelly as he bookended the card with victories. The first dash of the night, however, was marred by an accident when Rob (Samuel Fillion) came out of the two-hole at the half under a strong hold, struck the wheel of Harborlite Amos and fell to the track. The chain reaction unseated Mike Horner from Better Than Ever and J Harris from Tom Cruze Control. Fillion, Harris and Horner were all checked by track medical services and were cleared to continue. Horner booked off his remaining two drives. Officials from Kawartha indicated that the horses involved walked off the track with a few scrapes but seemed to be without serious injury.
Kelly was able to navigate Sports Activator (Sportswriter - Town Jiffy) to victory, winning that dash in 1:56.4 for trainer Michael Armstrong and owners Lee Cullen of Ottawa and Lloyd Howley of Kars, Ont.
The wins continued for Kelly in the fourth race with Waxman trainee Oh Coffee Bean (1:55, $5.00), Grassroots winner Your Party (Stag Party - Not Enough) in the seventh (1:56.2, $3.80) for trainer Martin Lachance and owner Uptownpets Com Stable Inc. of Loxahatchee, Fl, Vic Puddy's Ynothos (1:57.2, $7) in the eighth before finishing the night with Waxman's Beef N Cheddar (1:55, $5.50) in the finale. He heads into Sunday's action tied with Brandon Campbell at 183 wins for the season, third best in the nation.
Waxman handled the driving duties for his other training win, guiding Devils Peak (1:55.4, $5.00) to victory in the sixth. His stable sports a solid summary of 56-39-23 from 193 seasonal starts. Among Canadian trainers with more than 150 starts in 2023, Waxman's 0.442 UTRS is tops in the country.
The fastest OSS Grassroots division went to Great Bet (All Bets Off - Lady Be Great), a 1:55 winner for driver Scott Young, trainer Dominic Gladu and owner Thestable Great Bet Group of Guelph, Ont.
D A McDreamy (Mcwicked - Sports Beauty) notched his first win, a 1:55.3 tally for driver Young, trainer Shawn Steacy and owners Katherine Steacy, Landmark 16 Racing Stable of Lansdowne,Theodore Davis of Ohsweken and Angela Haskell, Guelph, Ont.
Also having his picture taken for the first time was Rose Run Zoltan (Mcwicked - Laurels Lea), a 1:55.4 Grassroots winner for driver Anthony Haughan, trainer Tony Beaton and owner S S G Stables of North Boston, N.Y.
For the results from Saturday's card of harness racing at Kawartha, click the following link: Saturday Results - Kawartha Downs.