Rookie Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) stars Beau Jangles and A Clean Deal both kept their perfect records intact in the $140,000 OSS Gold Leg 3 contests for their divisions on Thursday, Aug. 14 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Beau Jangles pushed his undefeated streak to four and added his third OSS Gold victory with a dominant performance in the event for two-year-old pacing colts and geldings.
Sent off as the 1-9 favourite in a field of seven following the scratch of Tilthecowscomehome, Beau Jangles was driven to victory by Bob McClure for trainer Dr. Ian Moore. McClure had Beau Jangles on top just before the :28 first quarter, got a soft :58.3 half-mile split, hit the three-quarters in 1:26.4, and came home in :26 to score a 1:52.4 victory. Borderline Mobby (James MacDonald) finished well to be 1-1/2 lengths back in second, followed by Redland Rocket Man (Louis-Philippe Roy), No Waitlist (Travis Henry), and Illicit Behavior (Billy Davis Jr.).
Beau Jangles won the first two OSS Gold events in the division at Woodbine Mohawk Park on July 5 and July 19. He also won the $227,100 Battle of Waterloo on Aug. 4 at Grand River Raceway. The son of Cattlewash-Mrs Major Hill has now earned $323,550. Bred by Tara Hills Stud of Port Perry, Ont., Beau Jangles was a $90,278 purchase at the 2024 Harrisburg sale. He is now owned by Graham Grace Stables of Clifton, Va., Kiwi Stables LLC of La Plata, Md., and Bolton Stables of Clermont, Fla.
McClure said the colt's wins to this point have been effortless.
“I just said to Doc [Moore], every race he's had so far, it's just been a training mile,” McClure told Woodbine broadcaster John Rallis. “I haven't even had to test him or try him. He's doing it so easily. Obviously, the big tell will be when he gets tired and we’ll see what he's got, but he's absolutely incredible.
“He's got a lot of class, and he's an absolute pleasure to sit behind. He's got a feather of a mouth, a great gait. He’s just an absolute pleasure to sit behind every time.
“He's just waiting for you to tell him what to do, and he's happy just to do it. You don't really have to ask him to go. You don't have to tell him to slow down. He's just absolutely perfect. It's like driving a robot that's really fast.”
Moore said it’s interesting that Beau Jangles’ fastest mile (1:50.1) was in his first career outing on July 5.
“He’s obviously garnered some respect from all the other drivers in the race, but, like Bob said, he's on cruise control, and I know that he can turn the switch pretty quickly because he does the same thing when I train him at home,” he said.
The trainer said the good news is some easier miles should come in handy later in the year.
“One thing's for sure, a lot of hard races early tends to not play too well at the end of the season," Moore said. "And as you know, the Breeders Crown is here this year Mohawk. So, we're obviously hoping to make it that far into October. So, some easy miles are going to play into our hand for that, I think. And you know, the colt wasn't even blowing after… He's developing a lot of class now on the track. When I go on the track with him, he’s a totally different horse. When he's at home he wants to play with you a little bit, but when he comes here he's all business and knows what we're here for.”
A Clean Deal maintained her clean record by powering to a career-best 1:50 victory in the lone OSS Gold event for two-year-old pacing fillies.
Despite coming into the race after a month off, A Clean Deal, the 1-2 favourite, was impressive. With regular pilot Doug McNair in the bike, she led the field through the :27.3 first-quarter before yielding the front to Daya (Jody Jamieson) through fractions of :55.1 and 1:23.1. Entering the stretch, A Clean Deal popped the pocket and blew past Daya to prevail by 1-3/4 lengths. Jen Tilly (Davis) closed well for second-place money, followed by Naughty Delight (James MacDonald), Jay (McClure), and Daya.
McNair said A Clean Deal was great in her return.
“Going back to her last start, she had to do a lot of the work, and she had a month off coming into this start,” McNair told Woodbine broadcaster John Rallis. “So, I wasn't sure how she'd really be tonight. Some of the other fillies have raced a couple times since [the last Gold], but [A Clean Deal] was really impressive tonight.
“She's beautiful to drive – two fingers – and when you ask her to go, she goes.”
A Clean Deal, a daughter of Cattlewash-Ideal Talker, is now perfect through four career starts and three OSS Gold Series races for trainer Kyle Fellows. She won the first two Gold events in the division on July 4 and July 17, both at Woodbine Mohawk Park, and already sports earnings of $218,000. She was purchased for $27,027 from the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale by Yolanda Fellows of Rockwood, Ont., Blair Corbeil of Leduc, Alta., Windermere Stable LLC of New York, N.Y., and James Ross of Wingham, Ont.
Rob Fellows said A Clean Deal has been a bit of a surprise.
“She trained down very average,” the trainer said. “Actually, I had a Captaintreacherous filly that wouldn't cut it. So, [A Clean Deal] did a lot of the work. She did nothing wrong, but she didn't show anything until she got behind the gate.”
Rob said the plan was just to race A Clean Deal in the OSS program this year.
Pretty Missy May proved the bettors wrong again in the lone third-leg $10,000 Pop-Up Series contest, winning at 15-1 in 1:53.3. She was a 22-1 longshot when she won in the second leg of the series, which is for $8,000 claiming fillies and mares that are non-winners of $5,000 in their past five starts, or that started in the previous leg.
To view Thursday's harness racing results, click the following link: Thursday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(With files from Ontario Racing)