A personal best 1:53.3 effort at Woodbine Mohawk Park in Friday night’s $158,800 Gold Series division extended three-year-old trotting filly Imextraspecial’s win streak to three and moved her into a tie atop the Ontario Sires Stakes division standings.
Starting from Post 5, Imextraspecial got off the gate smartly and was sitting third when Dicentra tripped the quarter-mile timer at :28. Driver Trevor Henry of Arthur, Ont. soon had the fan favourite on the move and they reached the half-mile marker in :57.2. Imextraspecial maintained a comfortable lead through the 1:25.4 three-quarters and then dug in down the stretch for a one and one-quarter length victory as HP Mama B attacked from the outside and Up And Ready tried to sneak up the rail.
“They’re a tough bunch of mares when they’re all on one gate, you never know what you’re going to end up with there,” said trainer Paul Walker of Owen Sound, Ont. “It was kind of stressful from the half on there, once she cleared to the front. I didn’t know whether that would be her cup of tea or not, but he got some nice middle fractions and she responded, so everything was good. She dug in deep.”
Walker said the Muscle Mass daughter’s toughness and versatility are her two biggest assets. She is quick off the gate, which can be a significant asset for a young trotter. As the field of 11 accelerated away from the gate in Friday’s contest, Dashing Muscle made a break in stride from Post 4, right beside Imextraspecial.
“She always was a good mare off the gate, it gets her out of a lot of trouble,” said Walker, who trains Imextraspecial for Keith Coulter of Mono, Ont. “If we can continue to draw not too bad, she’ll be certainly tough to beat. She’s got kind of back on her game right now and if we can keep her that way, she’s got some big stake races in September. I don’t how she’ll fare, she’ll be in with some Americans, I guess we’ll see what happens.”
The three-year-old trotting fillies make their fourth Gold Series start at Grand River Raceway on August 25 and then have three straight weeks of open stakes competition at Woodbine Mohawk Park: the Casual Breeze on September 3, Simcoe Stakes on September 10, and for those that qualify based on lifetime earnings, the Elegantimage Final on September 18. They will then wrap up their Gold Series regular season at the Campbellville, Ont. oval on September 28 and the top 10 point-earners through the five legs will advance to the October 16 Super Final.
“From here on in, it’s trying to keep them sound and fresh, that’s all,” said Walker. “Now, if she races back in a week, we don’t do too much with her -- jog her a little bit, very, very light training, and she sees more time in the paddock than anything. We’re lucky, we have a farm. We keep her turned out a lot and we’ll try to keep her as fresh as we can.
“As I said, she’s a tough mare and she’ll always give 100 per cent, so she’ll be fighting for some money anyway, every time I think.”
Friday’s win puts Imextraspecial in a tie for top spot in the three-year-old trotting filly standings with HP Mama B. Both fillies have two wins and one second in Gold Series action for 125 points. Through six sophomore starts, Imextraspecial has tallied three wins and two seconds for earnings of $171,150. Lifetime, the filly has earned $394,278, so by mid-September she could be among the lucky 10 who land a spot in the Elegantimage Final.
Ontario Sires Stakes excitement returns to Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday, Aug. 7 with one $159,600 Gold Series division for the three-year-old pacing colts. The division heavyweights will line up in sets of two: Second Bruiser and Desperate Man at Posts 2 and 3, Bulldog Hanover and Lawless Shadow on the opposite end of the starting gate at Posts 8 and 9. The evening gets under way at 7 p.m. and the sophomore pacing colts are featured in Race 8.
Fans can download a program and watch the live stream on the Woodbine Mohawk Park website or register to see the pacing colts battle in person.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(With files from OSS)