Monkey On My Wheel added another trophy to her growing collection with an effortless wire-to-wire score in the $132,654 SBOA Stake for three-year-old pacing fillies -- the first of three stakes events on Friday's harness racing card at Mohawk Racetrack
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With only five fillies entered, eliminations were not necessary for Friday’s sophomore filly pacing final, which worked out in favour of the Mach Three-Legislation miss. Following victories in her elimination and final of the Canadian Breeders Championship at Mohawk Racetrack as well as her elimination and final of the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series event at Rideau Carleton Raceway, trainer Travis Umphrey said Monkey On My Wheel picked up a bug.
“If this [stake] would have had elims she wouldn’t have been in it that’s how sick she got after the Ottawa [Gold] Series. Luckily they didn’t have enough to go elims and we were able to get her healthy enough for the final here.”
The healthy heavy 1-9 favourite and driver Jody Jamieson worked their way to command from post position five during a :27.3 opening quarter when the wings of the gate folded. After taking a breather to the half in :57.1, the bay filly rolled past three-quarters in 1:25.2 and cruised home for the 1:51.4 triumph, two lengths over the late closing Patsys Luck (Mike Saftic). Modern Connection (Mark MacDonald) and Three Charms (Doug McNair) finished third and fourth with early breaker Mach Lady (Billy Davis Jr.) rounding out the field. Monkey On My Wheel paid $2.50 to win for the fifth consecutive time.
“Travis and I talked about it before and we kind of thought we didn’t need to go the lead, but she was just sharp behind the gate, she’s been on the lead the last four [races], and I was able to get there and control it,” said Jamieson of his decision to send the filly to the lead early on. “It’s amazing, this game is so great. It looked like at the start of the year she was going to be a contender but all of a sudden here about four or five starts ago she’s just head and shoulders above everyone else at this point. My job is easy. Anybody who drives this filly, their job is real easy. She’s willing and wants to go. Travis has got the tough job now to keep her good until the [Ontario Sires Stakes] Super Final.”
Owned by Umphrey and breeder Mac Nichol of Burlington, Ont., Monkey On My Wheel now sports a record reading 5-3-1 in 11 seasonal starts with $305,052 earned. The lion’s share of the purse pushed her career bankroll over the half-million dollar mark.
“We’ll aim her now for the Simcoe [on Monday, September 5 at Mohawk] and go from there,” said Umphrey, adding that his trainee mostly has OSS races left on her card this season. “We’ve kept her paid up to the Breeders Crown in the fall and we’ll just see how that goes, and then the Super Final."
Umphrey also noted that Monkey On My Wheel will be returning to the track for her four-year-old season after a winter break.
“Definitely. If she finishes out the year well she’ll get a break," he said. "She seems to actually be getting with age so that’s definitely in our plans.”
The stakes action continued on Friday night with the third $130,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series final of the season for two-year-old trotting colts, in which The Game Plan recovered from an early miscue and rallied home to turn the tables on reigning Gold champion Il Mago.
Elimination winner Il Mago (Trevor Ritchie) cleared the lead in front of Good Sound Advice (Randy Waples) at the :28.1 quarter pole with the other elimination winner and 6-5 favourite The Game Plan and driver Jack Moiseyev getting away seventh before rolling off stride amidst early breakers The Golden Child (Mark Etsell) and Prized Fighter (Jody Jamieson).
Meanwhile back on top, Il Mago maintained the lead to the half in :57.4 while the parked out Ill Be There (Doug McNair) also made a miscue taking himself out of contention.
Il Mago proceeded to three-quarters in 1:26.3 while Good Sound Advice pulled the pocket. Moiseyev and The Game Plan had caught the field at that point and angled into the outer flow, avoiding breaker Heres The Magic (Scott Zeron) from second over, and firing home on the outside to collar the leader in deep stretch. The son of Kadabra-Image Control prevailed by three-quarters of a length over Il Mago while lowering his mark by one-fifth of a second to 1:56.3. Good Sound Advice finished third with 78-1 longshot Warrawee Nimby and Summer Indian (Paul MacDonell) earning the final paycheques.
“I was jockeying for position there and Luc [Ouellette and Warrawee Nimby] had me pretty tight. The one made a break there and I had to jerk mine over a little bit and he made a break,” said Moiseyev, explaining the reason for his colt's error. “He surprised me. He came right back trotting after about six strides. I kind of gave up and he just took off in the stretch. He’s a good horse.
“Going up around the last turn he swelled right back up,” noted the veteran reinsman. “The minute I saw everybody else was whipping and he was still loaded I couldn’t believe it and he just dug right in.”
The Game Plan paid $4.70 to win. Trainer John Kopas shares ownership of the bay gelding with the LLK Stable and Anthony Wagner of Mississauga, Ont. and Gary Grieve of Union, Ont. The Game Plan, who is now four-for-six his career and has yet to finish worse than third, boasts a bankroll of $150,800.
Two races later, elimination winner China Pearls overcame her early fears going to the gate and delivered on her pari-mutuel promise in the $148,654 three-year-old trotting filly division of the SBOA Stake.
“For some reason or other she didn’t want to go to the gate tonight,” said driver Randy Waples after the victory. “She’s never like that. She’s always two-fingers [to drive] and she was really quiet and relaxed in the post parade and then all of sudden when it was time to go to the gate she just didn’t want to have anything to do with it. She didn’t necessarily want to come back this way [to the winner’s circle] either. I don’t know. She’s not the first woman I couldn’t get along with.”
But Waples was eventually able to coax the Carman Hie-trained filly to her first front end victory.
Peach Martini (Rick Zeron) took control of the field of 10, in which Lukes Sophie (Jody Jamieson) and L A Freeway (Stephen Byron) make early breaks at the gate. Her lead was short-lived though as Waples sent even-money favourite China Pearls to the top from fourth following a :27.4 opening quarter and reached the half in :57.2.
With pressure mounting in the form of Oh Sweet Baby (Mario Baillargeon) as she neared three-quarters in 1:27.2, China Pearls dug in around the final turn. Rallying home from third over, Magic Wheel (Joe Hudon Jr.) posed another threat to China Pearls, but the daughter of Kadabra-Pure Sable found the wire just in time to score by a half a length in 1:55.2. Runner-up Magic Wheel was followed by Oh Sweet Baby in third while Peach Martini and Eagle Canada (Doug McNair) finished fourth and fifth respectively.
“I thought she’d settle, which she did. I just wasn’t sure how she was going to be in front because I’ve never raced her that way," said Waples of the trip. "I’ve always raced her from off the pace, but she’s really good right now and I just took a shot hoping that Ricky would not want to get into a battle. He knows that Carman’s filly is a good filly too so if he has to sit on one’s back I’m sure he’s got no problem sitting on her back. So I took a shot and it worked out. She did race really well, but I was getting a little worried down the lane. I could hear Joe. I couldn’t see him because Mario was between us, but I could here him and he was getting closer and closer. But she raced great, first time on the front end she won. I don’t necessarily think that’s her best trip, but it worked out tonight.”
China Pearls paid $4.20 to win. Hie also co-owns the bay filly with Stuart Cockshutt as part of the Carman Hie Stable Inc., along with Blake Anthony of Millgrove, Ont., J. Peter Kloepfer of Harley, Ont., and Ted Murrell of Sharon, Ont. Unraced at two, China Pearls has now won five races in 12 starts this year while banking $226,105.
For results from Friday's harness racing card, click on the following link: Friday Results - Mohawk Racetrack.