The public choices, Chantilly and Perfectly Chic, delivered winning performances in a pair of $110,000 divisions of the Eternal Camnation Stakes while Boxer Seelster returned double-digit dividends in the lone $230,000 division of the Nassagaweya Stakes during Saturday night's Grand Circuit action for freshman pacers at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Millar Farms struck again with pacing-filly magic when the homebred Chantilly stayed unbeaten in four starts with a 1:51.3 stroll in the first Eternal Camnation division.
Leaving from post eight, driver James MacDonald floated Chantilly forward and marched up the rim through a :26.4 first quarter. She found a hole to tuck into entering the backstretch when Papis Opinion (Dexter Dunn) pulled from third to brush for the lead, but MacDonald only sat briefly. Chantilly gathered steam moving to a :55.3 half and stamped onto the lead heading for the final turn, from which point she had the race sealed. After clicking past three-quarters in 1:24.1, Chantilly sprung for the finish to win geared down by 1-1/2 lengths over fast-closing Wicked N Single (Jonathan Drury). Papis Opinion settled for third while Au Jus Hanover (Andrew McCarthy) took fourth and Charlotte Station (Louis-Philippe Roy) finished fifth.
“She’s really calmed down every start she’s raced,” said MacDonald after the win. “She doesn’t really like the headpole a lot, so she gets a little funny with her head jogging around, but once she gets on the gate she’s all business. Just a real pleasure to drive and a real speed demon. She’s a great horse and she’s learning to be a great horse.”
Chantilly has now earned $187,500 from her four starts. Nick Gallucci trains the daughter of Big Jim-Shiraz Seelster for the Stouffville, Ont. based Millar Farms, which has found ample success over the years at Mohawk, especially with pacing fillies.
“I’ve had really great luck with Big Jim,” said owner George Millar after the race. “He’s out of a mare [that I] paid a lot of money for, but I bought her for breeding. I’ve got two sisters of her sitting on the farm and I’m anxious to get my hands on them. They look good.
“This is my first time in a couple of years I’ve come here and I feel good,” continued Millar. “As long as it's James driving and Chantilly racing, I’m going to come here. The only nicer thing I like is when he drives Prohibition Legal for me. I get goosebumps [from this filly]. I watch her brush in like a blink of an eye… I love the other fillies, but this one here has just got a little [different] turn of speed. James said Prohibition Legal vibes… I can see it.”
Sent off as the 1-9 favourite, Chantilly paid $2.10 to win.
Perfectly Chic delivered as the 4-5 favourite in the second Eternal Camnation division for the fillies, pouncing to a career-best 1:52.3 score.
Driver Bob McClure sent Perfectly Chic from post six for the top and cleared to a :27.3 first quarter, but she soon found herself riding a pocket trip as Cant See Me (Dexter Dunn) swooped to the lead before a :57.1 half. Perfectly Chic stayed engaged from the two-hole through the final turn and readied for a stretch sprint passing three-quarters in 1:25.1. McClure tipped Perfectly Chic out and easily overhauled Cant See Me within the final eighth to register a three-quarter-length win with Bonhomie Hanover (Scott Zeron) charging from last for third. Always Dawn (Tyler Borth) gave chase in fourth and Millie May Hanover (Todd McCarthy) rounded out the top five finishers.
“You’re always nervous [with] a few weeks off before a Grand Circuit race,” said trainer John Pentland, referring to the filly’s scratch from the Battle of the Belles on Aug. 5. “She obviously had some time off because of what happened to her before that Grand River race. She kind of banged herself up. It was enough that it threw her off. We dealt with it and it looks like she’s maybe come back okay.”
“She felt good,” said McClure. “Not quite a hundred per cent, but good enough that I was confident in her. I was really just looking to leave and sit – I figured that was easier than trying to come around a whole bunch. I figured if I followed Dexter [Dunn] that I could be second and maybe give him a shot down the lane. But coming out of the last turn, she felt really good and I knew we had lots of time, so I wasn’t in a rush. When I moved her, she dug real deep. I’m real happy with her and she’s been a pleasure to drive. I’m so lucky to do it with good friends of mine – John and Steve [Mihalic] too.”
McClure co-owns Perfectly Chic, a Betterthancheddar-Fit N Bad filly, through 2729346 Ontario Inc. with her Dorchester, Ont. trainer Pentland and Steve Mihalic of Oakville, Ont., who had custom t-shirts made celebrating Perfectly Chic ahead of the Battle of the Belles until she scratched.
“The highs and the lows in this business are so difficult,” said Mihalic. “I bought shirts for everyone [for the Battle of the Belles], then we had to scratch her, so that was disappointing. But today just makes up for it and I thank John and Bob for what they’ve done with this horse. I’m just an innocent bystander here and I just loved holding this trophy at my favourite track in North America. When you win races with your friends, it just means even more to you.”
Winning for the second time from five starts, Perfectly Chic has now banked $99,600. Bred by Winbak Farm, she was just a $12,000 yearling acquisition from the 2023 Standardbred Horse Sale.
She paid $3.80 to win.
Boxer Seelster (pictured above) bounded forward off a second-over ride to punch a 9-1 upset in the Nassagaweya for colts and geldings, stopping the clock in a career-best 1:52 for trainer Scott McEneny.
Driver Trevor Henry positioned Boxer Seelster from post two into fourth as 3-5 favourite Prince Hal Hanover (Bob McClure) crossed to the top before a :26.4 first quarter. Henry flushed cover from Joel And The Jets (James MacDonald) after a :56.1 half and rode the tow around the final turn while Prince Hal Hanover readied for the challenge. Past three-quarters in 1:25, Prince Hal Hanover held his ground and rebuffed Joel And The Jets, but Boxer Seelster hit the accelerator once given racetrack by Henry and hustled to the front in deep stretch to win edging away. Prince Hal Hanover settled for second, beaten 1-3/4 lengths, with 52-1 shot Brigade (Yannick Gingras) grabbing third and Ayeaye Captain Deo (Sylvain Filion) finishing fourth off a pocket ride over Joel And The Jets.
“When I first drove him, he was a little iffy. And then when we qualified him back, Scott [McEneny] had him really good and I said, ‘He’s a real nice colt,’” said Henry after the race. “He had to learn his gait; he was a little funny [and] he wasn’t one hundred per cent sound. But Scott’s got him sound now and he’s got some go.”
Boxer Seelster bagged his second win from four starts and has now earned $124,000 for owners McEneny, Aristi Varsakis of Hamilton, Ont., Martwest Racing LP of Mississauga, Ont., and Cantucky Farm Inc. of Jarvis, Ont. McEneny trains the colt by another one of his pupils, Bettors Delight, out of his former trainee Big Thong – a pedigree that convinced the Carlisle, Ont. horseman to add him to the barn from the London Classic Yearling Sale last fall.
“It was [Big Thong’s] first foal and she made me a lot of money, so we bought the first foal,” said McEneny of the $55,000 yearling purchase bred by Seelster Farms. “I thought I’d have to pay more than I did for him, but I really liked him at the sale. I was very confident and I was really happy with him when he qualified. He looked like a different horse. I thought if we could get a trip that we’d have a shot against these guys.”
Boxer Seelster paid $20.50 to win.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(With files from Woodbine)