Returning to Canadian soil, world champion Put On A Show rebounded from a miscue in the Golden Girls at The Meadowlands with a 1:50.1 triumph in the $42,000 Fillies & Mares Open Pace at Mohawk Racetrack on Friday night.
With the inside post position, defending class champion Monkey On My Wheel (Keith Oliver) quickly estbalished the lead off the gate and posted a :27.3 opening quarter with the field lined up behind her in program order. But as the mares moved down the backstretch, Put On A Show and driver Jody Jamieson swept up from fourth and cleared to command just past the :55.4 half-mile marker.
Put On A Show proceeded to three-quarters in 1:23.3 with Tea Party Princess (Rick Zeron) flushed first up and Strike An Attitude (Randy Waples) catching her cover. Tea Party Princess applied heavy pressure to the leader at the head of the lane, but Put On A Show turned back that rival and held off Monkey On My Wheel, who ran out of racetrack after slipping out of the pocket in the closing strides. Put On A Show stopped the clock in 1:50.1 with Monkey On My Wheel settling for second and Tea Party Princess back in third.
Put On A Show paid $3.30 to win as the betting favourite. The daughter of Rocknroll Hanover, who posted a dazzling world record 1:47.3 mile in the Lady Liberty at the Big M prior to her Golden Girls fiasco, now boasts nine wins from 16 starts and purses earnings of $373,367 in her comeback season. The victory was number 28 in her career, during which she has banked over $2.3 million.
Put On A Show is trained by Chris Ryder for owners Craig Henderson and partners Richard and Joanne Young.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Mohawk Racetrack.