Two $95,000 divisions of the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series were contested on Monday (Aug. 12) evening at Grand River Raceway as the fourth leg with victories captured by top fillies R Liza and Willys Home Run.
R Liza won half of her eight starts as a freshman, producing over $100,000 in earnings to make her a top contending filly; however, the Muscle Mass - Wishimaywishimight has more than doubled her performance level in her young sophomore campaign. On Tuesday, she won her fifth race in six starts this year, this time in the first OSS Gold split of the evening.
Jody Jamieson and R Liza left from post five, took the lead, and never faced an obstacle besides the timer throughout the mile. She handled the clockings in :28, :57.2, and 1:26.1 before cruising to a comfortable two length win in 1:54.2. Valentine Bluechip (Doug McNair) finished second and P L Rainbow Dash (Bob McClure) completed the triactor.
M And L Of Delaware LLC and Alabama Harness Associate co-own the superstar filly trained by Susanne Kerwood. In here career to date, R Liza has produced a record of 9-2-0 in 14 starts with $415,107 banked. She went to the gate as the favourite and paid $3.70 to win.
Coming off a winning qualifier last week, Willys Home Run returned to winning form once again in the second split of the OSS Gold.
Regular pilot James MacDonald took the Archangel - Rite Outa The Park sophomore filly to the gate on the rail in the field of five. Kinnder Hotblood (Matthew Bax) and Shetrotsalot (Scott Young) dueled early for contention on the lead, but the battle was swift with Kinnder Hotblood taking charge. Shetrotsalot settled for a pocket ride and Willys Home Run eased into third. After the :28.3 quarter, Valuable Miss (Trevor Henry) was the first to pull a right line and she climbed her way to the top, meeting Kinnder Hotblood at the :58.2 half. At that same moment, Willys Home Run was on the move at her heels.
The three fillies were on the path for home and after the three-quarters in 1:26.3, they spread across the track in preparation for the stretch battle. Kinnder Hotblood had the upper hand, but Willys Home Run took home the gold at the wire in 1:55.1 by a half length. Valuable Miss was third.
Trained by Kyle Fellows, Willys Home Run is owned by Dr. Sara Gatchell, Jake Higgs, breeder Reg Higgs, and Yolanda Fellows. The win was her second in six starts this year, yielding $161,200 this year of her $685,135 career earnings. In 16 lifetime starts, the filly has returned a record of 8-6-1. She paid $2.60 to win as the bettors' choice.
To view Monday's harness racing results, click the following link: Monday Results - Grand River Raceway.
(Standardbred Canada)