Grand Circuit action continued at Mohawk Racetrack on Thursday evening as the Campbellville oval rolled out the red carpet for three-year-old trotting fillies in a pair of Simcoe Stakes divisions
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Canada’s Two-Year-Old Trotting Filly of the Year in 2008, Elusive Desire, dug down deep to score a 1:54.4 decision in her $128,584 assignment for the tandem of driver Paul MacDonell and trainer Mike Keeling.
The daughter of Angus Hall-Valley Amber tucked into an early three-hole while Yursa Hanover sprinted the field to the quarter pole in :26.4. MacDonell rolled Elusive Desire to the outside on the way to the half, with Yursa Hanover still in charge in :55.4. She also hung up the three-quarter clocking of 1:25.1 while Elusive Desire clearly laboured around the final turn. It looked as though Yursa Hanover was going to finish off the gate-to-wire attempt, but Elusive Desire summoned up all of her toughness to find a second wind en route to posting the 1:54.4 decision. It was just over a length back to runner-up Yursa Hanover. Keep The Spirit was third.
“She came up with a stone bruise and she’s got a sore foot,” claimed trainer Mike Keeling. “I didn’t know how she’d be and she just showed me that she has the heart of a good one. I was going to get the hot water ready to bath her and then I checked down the stretch and I thought ‘wow, she’s really gutting this one out’. She has one more Gold Series at Kawartha Downs and then the Breeders Crown after that. Soundness wise she’ll tell me, and the Breeders Crown is what I really want to go after and the Super Final after that. She only needs to improve a little bit and she’ll be back to herself again.”
P C Wellwood Enterprises Inc., Charles Armstrong and Robert Fasken share ownership on the talented filly, who won for the eighth time in 13 starts this season. The lion’s share of the purse boosted her career earnings to $894,006.
Fresh off her win in the $$327,985 Hudson Filly Trot at Yonkers Raceway, Windsong Soprano doled out a Thursday evening whooping on the fillies she faced in her $130,584 division.
The daughter of Windsongs Legacy-Muscling In tracked cover from second over in the back half of the mile before vaulting off cover at the head of the lane and powering away to a 1:55.1 decision for driver Steve Condren. The Bob McIntosh pupil drew off to win by nine lengths over Magic Sassy. Serenas Genie rounded out the top three.
“We basically only raced for a quarter of a mile, so it was kind of decent” said driver Steve Condren. “She felt very good; we really walked the third quarter and she was muscling up good and I’m just glad we got a very easy race into her because she’s had a tough campaign the last few weeks. She was very handy, they walked up to the three-quarter pole and it turned in to a final quarter sprint and she can sprint with the best of them.”
Lothlorien, the nom-de-racecourse of Susan Grange of Cheltenham, ON, owns the 10-time winner who has picked up seven of those wins this season. Her lifetime bankroll swelled to $811,551 with the triumph.
To view Thursday’s harness racing results, click here.