Bob McIntosh trainee Class Of O Nine maintained her position atop the class of Ontario Sires Stakes two-year-old pacing fillies with her second $130,000 Gold Final victory on Sunday night at Rideau Carleton Raceway
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Elimination winner Classy Lane Rose (Mario Baillargeon) took control of the field from Post 8 and put up an opening quarter of :28.4 with Ys Gold Star (Denis St. Pierre), Cooking The Books (Tony Kerwood) and Mindsweeper (Sylvain Filion) landing seats in front of Class Of O Nine and driver Randy Waples.
Refusing to sit a pocket trip, Ys Gold Star swept to the top by the three-eighths mark and carved out middle splits of :58.4 and 1:28.2. Meanwhile, Mindsweeper made the first over sacrifice with Class Of O Nine following her cover.
Mindsweeper made it up to the leader’s saddle pad before Class Of O Nine went wide and rallied home for the 1:57 triumph. Cooking The Books finished a half-length behind in second with Classy Lane Rose two and a half lengths back in third.
Class Of O Nine has record four wins in seven starts so far in her career. Among her wins are the elimination and final of the first Gold Series event at Flamboro Downs, her Gold elimination at Mohawk Racetrack on July 11 and tonight’s final. She now boasts $176,500 in career earnings. The homebred daughter of Camluck-Skippin School is owned by the Robert McIntosh Stables Inc. of Windsor, Ont. and Dwight Stacey of Mitchell, Ont.
Class Of O Nine paid $7.60 to win as the 5-2 third choice.
McIntosh, who also earned a Gold trophy earlier in the day at Flamboro Downs with two-year-old pacing colt I Found My Beach, added a matching set of Grassroots hardware to the haul when So Take That and In Commando captured their respective $24,000 divisions for freshman pacers in Ottawa.
So Take That kicked off McIntosh’s hat trick at Rideau Carleton, sprinting from third to first down the stretch to claim a head victory over Late Night Flight in the seventh race. Retail did all the work on the front end, but had to settle for third spot in the 1:57.1 mile.
The Windsor, Ont. resident bred and owns So Take That with Dave Boyle of Bowmanville, Ont. and C S X Stables of Liberty Center, Ohio, and had harnessed the son of Camluck-Everybreathutake in three starts this season, with Sunday’s effort marking the colt’s first appearance in the top three.
McIntosh’s other Grassroots hardware came from In Commando in the last $24,000 Grassroots division. The Camluck son and Waples were moving aggressively up the outside when pacesetter YS Charlie went off stride and they made the most of the opportunity, sailing home to a three length win in 1:57.4. Who Doesnt and Twickenham rounded out the top three.
Robert McIntosh Stables Inc. and Al McIntosh Holdings Inc. of Leamington, Ont. share the ownership papers on In Commando, who was also making his first appearance in the winner’s circle through five starts.
In other Grassroots action, True To Mach maintained his position at the top of the leaderboard with a third straight Grassroots victory for trainer Jim Ainsworth and owners Larry Ainsworth of Petrolia, Ont. and William Boden of Vancouver, B.C. The Mach Three son bested Daniel Semalu and Some Or Lis with his 1:57.3 effort.
With three Grassroots victories in three outings, True To Mach boasts a perfect 150 points in the race toward one of 16 post season berths. Phil Hudon has been in the race bike for all five of the colt’s starts.
R Gauwitz Hanover was a 2:00.2 winner for Katherine Steacy of Lansdowne, Landmark IV Racing Stable of Elginburg, Ont., David Reid of Glenburnie, Ont., and Bridle Path Stables Ltd. of Ossining, New York; Secretsoftheknight scored a 1:56.2 win for Tony Lawrence of Hanover, Ont., Leonard Gamble of Etobicoke, Ont., John Newell of Waterloo, Ont., and Graham Hopkins of Chesley, Ont.; Instant Thrill hit the wire in 1:56.4 for Gilles Plourde and Karen Kroeger of Gatineau, Que; and Red Carpet Dude paced home to a 1:57.4 win for Glenview Livestock Ltd. of Wallenstein, Ont. and Bill Manes of Rockwood, Ont.
The two-year-old pacing colts return to Grassroots action on Aug. 27 at Kawartha Downs, while the two-year-old pacing fillies head to Windsor Raceway for their fourth Gold Series event on Sept. 18. Ontario Sires Stakes excitement will roll back into Ottawa on Friday, Sept. 9 when Rideau Carleton Raceway hosts the three-year-old trotting fillies in Grassroots action.
For results from Sunday's harness racing card, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Rideau Carleton Raceway.
(With files from OSS)
Front end types from Mohawk
Front end types from Mohawk like,"Class Of O Nine",...... often do well over the Rideau track surface, as opposed to the hard charging late closers from Mohawk.