The season long 40th birthday party for the Ontario Sires Stakes Program shifts to the most eastern track in the province, Rideau Carleton Raceway, on Thursday evening.
Fans purchasing race programs will receive a free OSS Anniversary t-shirt and birthday cupcakes will be served. Patrons will also be treated to some great action on track in the form of the three-year-old trotting colts who will battle it out in three $70,000 Gold divisions and the same number of $18,000 Grassroots events.
Several colts with local ownership will square off Thursday evening including a trio of colts from Rideau regular Mark Steacy led by Harper Blue Chip in the second Gold division, race four. The son of Majestic Son, who earned accolades for the OSS when he finished third in the million dollar Hambletonian final earlier this month, has drawn post five with his regular pilot Sylvain Filion scheduled to drive.
Owned by Landmark 6 Stable, Kingston, David McDonald, Cornwall, David Reid Glenburnie and George Judson, Athens, Ontario, Harper Blue Chip has made eight starts to date this year with three wins, two seconds and two thirds for $298,430 in earnings. He made his first OSS start of 2014 in last week’s Gold event at Mohawk where he won handily in 1:56.1. He comes into the race with $495,000 in lifetime earnings, meaning a top four finish would push him over the half million dollar mark.
Harper’s stablemate, Warrawee Prince, is a familiar performer at Rideau as he’s made the majority of his lifetime starts at the Ottawa oval. A son of Angus Hall, owned by Steacy and Landmark 6, Warrawee Prince is making his second Grassroots appearance of the season, finishing fourth in his debut at Grand River Raceway last week.
Warrawee Prince is starting in post two in the sixth race and alongside in post three is a former paddock mate from Warrawee Farms, Warrawee Preferred, a son of Federal Flex, who took his life record of 2:00.1f at Rideau in May. Both colts were bred by Dr. Mike Wilson’s Warrawee Farm of Rockwood, Ontario which co-owns Prince with trainer Per Henriksen of Norwood and Darryl Drain of Tweed, Ontario. Warrawee Prince won his most recent Grassroots event at Grand River.
Steacy’s third starter, R Choochoo Charlie, was also victorious in his Grand River Grassroots test. He’s drawn post six in the final Grassroots division at Rideau, race nine. The homebred son of Muscle Mass is owned and by Elizabeth and Tom Rankin of St. Catharines, Ontario.
Well known local owner Mel Hartman of Ottawa is represented on Thursday by Scary Magic in the first OSS Gold division, race two. The gelding is by Kadabra, who also sired one of Hartman’s best known horses of all time, last year’s horse of the year in Canada and the U.S., Bee A Magician, a winner of $2.4 million to date in her career. David McDuffee of Florida, who co-owns Bee A Magician, also co-owns Scary Magic with Hartman. Richard ‘Nifty’ Norman trains both.
Scary Magic, whose dam is a half-sister to $738,000 winner Make You Mine, will be driven by one of Rideau’s top drivers, Ted McDonald from post two. McDonald will also pilot Norman’s other Gold entrant on Thursday night, Massive Talent, who has post two in the third Gold test, race eight.
The OSS will return to the nation’s capital again on Sunday where the three-year-old trotting fillies will headline the card. Thursday’s special program gets underway at 6:30 p.m. at Rideau with the Gold trotters in races two, four and eight and the Grassrooters featured in five, six and nine.
(OSS)
To view entries for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Entries – Rideau Carleton Raceway.