Driver James MacDonald returned to the Ontario Sires Stakes program on Monday, Aug. 24 at Woodbine Mohawk Park and found his way right back to the winner’s circle with three-year-old pacing filly Mary Kat.
The pair lined up at Post 5 in the second $23,150 Grassroots division and got away smartly behind fan favourite Mach My Kiss, who rang up early fractions of :26.4 and :55.3. Landry Seelster rolled up on the outside and pressed Mach My Kiss through the 1:23.3 three-quarters and continued to battle the pacesetter through the stretch, leaving room for MacDonald to swing Mary Kat into an open lane. Once she had a clear view of the finish line, Mary Kat kicked into gear and got a head in front of Mach My Kiss to secure the win in a 1:51.4 personal best. Landry Seelster finished one-half length back in second.
“It was pretty well perfect. I got to follow Doug (McNair with Mach My Kiss) the whole way and then Shep (Robert Shepherd with Landry Seelster) took enough bite out of Doug I was able to get by him down the lane and get her into the winner’s circle,” said MacDonald, whose last appearance in an Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) win photo came July 31, one day before he broke his collarbone and suffered a concussion in a racing accident at Woodbine Mohawk Park. “She is a nice little filly. She’s been good all year, she just goes out and does her job and she’s easy on herself. She’s a nice little filly to drive.”
Monday night was MacDonald’s second night back in the race bike and the reinsman said, barring any setbacks, he should be back to his full schedule of Woodbine Mohawk Park and OSS races this week.
“Saturday I was just kind of seeing how I felt coming out of it because my arm, it felt great in the bike and stuff, but not doing anything for three weeks you lose those muscles pretty quick. But I felt great on Saturday and I feel great again today, so I think it should be good to go, barring any setbacks or anything,” said MacDonald. “I’m still going down to St. Catharine’s quite a bit and seeing my doctor and working with him, so I’ll be doing that for a few more weeks anyway and go from there.”
MacDonald piloted Mary Kat to the win for trainer Shawn Steacy of Brantford and owners David McDonald of Cornwall, A K Malik Stable of Ottawa, ON, and Diane Bertrand and Robert Gilhespy of Edmonton, AB. It was the Bettors Delight daughter’s second Grassroots win of the season and puts her at the top of the division standings with 144 points.
Lyons Tilt Hanover matched Mary Kat’s 1:51.4 clocking in the first division to earn her first-ever Grassroots win. In rein to J. Harris, the fan favourite sprinted by pacesetter Docs Harmony in the stretch and hit the wire two and three-quarter lengths the best. Docs Harmony settled for second and Mouth Watering was third.
“The Threelyons guys, they called me up and asked if I would train a few for them and she happened to be one. I noticed that she was in the top 20 in points for Grassroots heading into tonight so I kind of wanted to get a start in her last week, and she raced tremendous last week and obviously tonight she was even that much better,” said trainer Anthony Beaton. “She’s certainly looking like a nice little filly to have on board.”
The Waterdown resident conditions Lyons Tilt Hanover for Threelyonsracing of Brantford, ON. With one win and one second in her three Grassroots appearances, the Bettors Delight daughter now sits among the top 10 point earners with one regular season event remaining.
Coqui Coqui picked up her first Grassroots win of the season in the third $23,500 split. Starting from Post 1 driver Sylvain Filion watched from second as Kit led the field of 10 to a :26.3 opening quarter, but soon had Coqui Coqui moving to the front. Once in control the fan favourites sailed through a :55.1 half and 1:23.4 three-quarters on their way to a two and one-quarter length win in a personal best 1:52.3. Watchful Eye and Rose Run Victory finished second and third.
“There’s not many soft divisions, but this wasn’t one of the tougher ones tonight and she had a great post and Sylvain took advantage of it,” said trainer Rob Fellows of Rockwood, ON. “There’s a lot of nice fillies. If they get a trip they can all beat the other one type thing.”
Fellows trains the Sportswriter daughter for owner-breeder John Turigliatto of Toledo, OH. The win also bumped Coqui Coqui into the top 10 with her stablemate Mach My Kiss.
Odds On Vero Beach took the last Grassroots division with a pocket trip in behind Queso Relleno, who put up fractions of :26.4, :56.1 and 1:24.2 before being collared in the stretch by the fan favourite. Mia Culpa completed the top three.
Yannick Gingras piloted Bettors Delight daughter Odds On Vero Beach to her first-ever Grassroots win for trainer Tony Alagna and owner-breeder Odds On Racing of Boca Raton, FL.
The fillies will make their last regular season Grassroots start at Hanover Raceway on Sept. 5. The top 20 point earners will then return to Woodbine Mohawk Park on Oct. 2 for two $20,000 Semi-Finals, with the top five finishers from each earning a berth in the $75,000 Grassroots Championship on Oct. 10.
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Ontario Sires Stakes action continues at the Milton oval on Tuesday, Aug. 25 with three Grassroots divisions for the two-year-old trotting colts. The colts are featured in Races 4, 6 and 8 on the program, which gets under way at 7 p.m.
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To view results for Monday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Monday Results – Woodbine Mohawk Park.