Dabrina maintained her position atop the two-year-old trotting filly Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots standings with an effortless wire-to-wire victory at Flamboro Downs on Friday evening
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With Karen Hudon in the race bike, the Kadabra daughter sailed along through a :30.4 quarter and a 1:03 half, then fought off a challenge from Radical Janey (Mark Steacy) heading by the 1:32.4 three-quarters. Kicking into high gear down the stretch, Dabrina sailed under the wire a one and one-quarter length winner in 2:03. Zorgwijk Lunar (Claude Cadieux) enjoyed a pocket ride into second-place, one length ahead of Radical Janey.
Peter Dennis of Brantford, ON and Thomas Rupert of Simcoe, ON bred and own Radical Janey, who is a full-sister to former Ontario Sires Stakes superstar Majestic Son ($1,993,157).
Dabrina’s Friday evening victory was the filly’s second straight in Grassroots action for trainer Joe Hudon Jr. of Acton, ON and his partners R A W Equine Inc. of Burlington, ON and Herbert Boggs of Duncan, BC. A $26,000 acquisition from last fall’s Harrisburg Yearling Sale, Dabrina has posted two wins and two thirds in four starts for earnings of $27,660.
Husband and wife team Joe and Karen Hudon scored a second Grassroots victory with Magic Wheel, who was very impressive from Post 8. Leaving smartly from the outside post, the filly reached the opening quarter in :30, hit the half in 1:01.1 and the three-quarters in 1:32.2, then sprinted home to a four and three-quarter length victory in 2:02.2. Abbeycrest (Garrett Whelan), owned by trainer Daniel O’Brian of Cambridge, ON, trailed along behind the pacesetter into second and Pondo Ruba (Richard Webb) rounded out the top three.
Acton resident Karen Hudon and breeder Margaret Payne of St. Augustine, Florida share ownership on Kadabra daughter Magic Wheel, who now has one first, one second and one third to her credit through three Grassroots starts. The win moved Magic Wheel into a tie for second in the division point race, with half of the Grassroots events in the books.
Magic Wheel is tied with Shez So Striking, who delivered an impressive effort up the outside to score her first Grassroots victory in the fourth $24,000 division. Starting from Post 4 with regular reinsman Robert Shepherd in the race bike, Shez So Striking landed 10 lengths behind the leader in fourth. Shepherd tipped the Striking Sahbra miss to the outside heading for the halfway marker and Shez So Striking steadily reeled in the pacesetter then cruised home a two and one-quarter length winner in 2:03.4. Incredible Emmy Go (Stephen Byron) was second, while Whitney Fields (Frank O'Reilly) was well back in third.
Trainer Rod Boyd and his brothers Trevor and Jeff Boyd, all of Cambridge, ON, share ownership on Shez So Striking, who was an $11,000 bargain at the 2009 Canadian Open Yearling Sale. Like Magic Wheel, the filly has one win, one second and one third to her credit through the first three Grassroots events for $20,880 in earnings and 87 points.
Last Chance Babie also moved up the point standings with her 2:04.3 score for Campbellville, ON residents Vaughn and Mark Marshall. The Sugarcane Leonard daughter crossed under the wire four and a half lengths up on Barronett (Stephen Byron) and Barbies Korvett (John Muir). David Frey trains Last Chance Babie and “Mr. OSS” Dave Wall drove her to the victory.
The other two Grassroots divisions went to Rise N Shine and Stephen Byron in 2:03.3 and Edens Cover Girl and Trevor Ritchie in 2:04.
The fourth freshman trotting filly Grassroots event goes postward Sept. 6 at Dresden Raceway.
Flamboro Downs fans are gearing up for the Dundas oval’s exciting Confederation Cup program this Sunday, August 15, which also features $130,000 OSS Gold Finals for the three-year-old trotting colts and two-year-old pacing colts. Post time for Sunday’s spectacle is 1 p.m.
To view Friday's results, click here.
(With files from OSS)