Ontario’s talented two-year-old pacing fillies invaded Clinton Raceway on Sunday afternoon and were treated to a track record performance by Sauble Claire in the second of nine $24,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots divisions
.
Sent off as the fan’s top choice, driver Trevor Henry and Sauble Claire went straight to the front from Post 4 and never looked back, rolling through fractions of :29.1, :58.2 and 1:28.2 on their way to a 1:57.2 triumph. The LH Stryker daughter paced under the wire one and one-half lengths ahead of Almost Midnight. Katys Jet was 10 lengths back in third.
The time of the mile shaved two-fifths of a second off Twin Be Diva's two-year-old pacing filly track record.
Otis Hall conditions Sauble Claire for owner-breeder Sauble Hill Farms of Tara, Ont. and has started the filly nine times, watching her post three wins, two seconds and one third for earnings of $47,640. The filly started her provincial career at the Gold Series level, earning one second and one third in Gold elimination action, before dropping back to the Grassroots level in time for the Aug. 13 event at Georgian Downs where she finished second.
Sauble Claire was the second filly from the Otis Hall barn to appear in the winner’s circle on Sunday. Her stablemate Twin B Roxy kicked off the afternoon’s festivities with a front end 1:58.1 victory over Stonebridge Sassy and Village Bound.
Stephen Byron engineered the victory for Hall and Sauble Hill Farms, guiding the daughter of Modern Art to her third win in eight starts and her first in Grassroots action.
Driver Billy Davis Jr. also made two appearances in the Grassroots winner’s circle, the first coming aboard Cola Dream in the fifth race. Starting from Post 2 the pair stalked pacesetter Canjet through fractions of :29.2, 1:00.1 and 1:31.2 before rolling out in the stretch to a half-length victory in 2:01.1. Canjet settled for second, with Lyons Luck rounding out the top three.
The win was Cola Dream’s first in just her third lifetime start. The Mach Three filly made her Grassroots debut in the Georgian Downs event where she finished fourth. Dominic Colarusso of Olean, New York bred and owns Cola Dream and Rheal Bourgeois conditions the youngster.
Davis’ second appearance in the winner’s circle came five races later, as the reinsman wrapped up the Grassroots program with Thats Mara, who delivered a commanding five length victory over fan favourite Regal Attitude and Secret Edition. The pair paced under the wire in 2:01.1.
Jack Darling trains Thats Mara for owner-breeder Mitchell Walker of Davison, Michigan. Through four starts the Lis Mara daughter has tallied two wins and one second for earnings of $20,620.
Both Eat Me Up and Your Beautiful extended their Grassroots win streaks to three on Sunday, maintaining their position at the top of the division point standings.
Your Beautiful and regular reinsman Stuart Sowerby sailed along on the front end in the sixth race, ringing up fractions of :29.4, 1:00.3 and 1:29.4 before pulling away to a three and a half length victory in 1:59.1. J Js Tassie Girl and Mystical Liz battled into second and third.
Stephen and Marilyn Gillard of Tavistock, Ont. bred and own Your Beautiful and Stephen handles training duties on the daughter of Your Nemesis and Beautiful Girl. In addition to her three Grassroots victories, Your Beautiful captured the $150,000 final of the Battle of the Belles stake at Grand River Raceway and won a Gold elimination at Mohawk Racetrack on July 11. Through seven starts the filly has accumulated five wins and one second for earnings of $143,250.
Eat Me Up gave Clinton fans a moment of pause when she made an error at the start, but the Mach Three daughter was able to recover and sprint home to a one length victory in 2:03.2. Pacesetter Concert Over earned second-place honours behind the fan favourite, with Da Ladys Secret pacing home in third.
Tony Kerwood piloted Eat Me Up to her sixth win for trainer Gord Remmen and owner David Ratchford of North Sydney, N.S. The filly has only been bested once in seven starts, finishing second to Your Beautiful in the Battle of the Belles final.
The other Grassroots divisions were captured by Premier Indigo in 1:59.3; Fine Art Mindale in 2:03; and Driving Miss Deo in 2:01.3.
The three-year-old trotting fillies were not the only Ontario Sires Stakes winners at Clinton Raceway on Sunday. Sandy Henry of Teeswater, Donald Besley of Stratford, Halee McCann of Ailsa Craig, Brad Lichty of Elmira, Brent Brooks of Blyth, Bill Tong of Hensall, Adam Graham of St. Pauls, and Bob Tindall of Lucan were selected as finalists in the Win The Thrill race and earned a shot at the Grand Prize of a share in the Standardbred Breeders of Ontario Association’s (SBOA) New Owner Mentoring Program. The Grand Prize draw will occur at Mohawk Racetrack on Grassroots Championship night Oct. 1, 2011.
More information about the Ontario Sires Stakes Win The Thrill program and the SBOA New Owner Mentoring Program is available at www.ontariosiresstakes.com and www.standardbredbreeders.com.
For results from Sunday's harness racing card, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Clinton Raceway.
(With files from OSS)