Goober Smack found his stride early out of the gate in post eight of one of two $20,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots divisions, leading every step of the way to victory in a new lifetime mark on Thursday (Sept. 12) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
The sophomore trotting colts and geldings met for their fifth leg of the series and will face again on Sept. 27 at Mohawk for the Consolation and Sept. 28 for the Final of the OSS Grassroots Series.
James MacDonald and Susanne Kerwood teamed up to send Goober Smack to the gate as the bettors' choice from the far outside in the field of eight. The colt wasted little time in achieving the front and never looked back, controlling the timer in splits in :27.4, :57, and 1:25.4 before opening up to win by three-lengths in 1:54.2. Saturday (Brett MacDonald) finished second with R No Mercy (Doug McNair) third.
The sophomore son of Flanagan Memory and the Muscle Mass mare Bluestone Muscles is owned by S&r Racing Stable Inc. He recorded his fourth win of the year in 12 starts and his seventh career win from 16 starts, producing a lifetime sum of $84,829. Goober Smack paid $5.50 to win.
Jack N Abs took the second OSS Grassroots division with Doug McNair holding the lines for trainer Gregg McNair. The colt left from post four, sitting second as the first quarter was reached in :28. As Royal Duharas (Louis-Philippe Roy) took command from Sid The Kid (Scott Young) before the :57.2 half, Jack N Abs was pushed to third. With an outer flow bid started by Elegant Resolve (James MacDonald), Jack N Abs was shuffled further back to a locked-in fifth along the pylons at the three-quarters in 1:27. A last quarter in :27.4 gave Jack N Abs enough momentum to kick home and win at the wire by a neck in 1:55.2. Elegant Resolve finished second with Royal Duharas third.
The three-year-old son of Muscle Mass and the Striking Sahbra mare Lady Bling is owned by Gregg McNair, Brady Doyle, and Shady Hill Racing Stable. He moved his seasonal tally to 4-4-2 in third starts, yielding five career wins and $154,497 in 22 starts. Jack N Abs paid $10.80 to win from 5-1 odds.
Chelsis Choice found post 10 and 19-1 odds to be no problem, winning the $20,000 Pop Up Series Final as the card finale in race 10. The Pop Up Series was open to fillies and mares that were non-winners of $18,000 in 2024, also eligible not averaging $1,400 per start with a minimum of 10 starts.
Tyler Borth and the Ricky Montgomery student got away last in their field of 10, sitting back off the leader by 12-1/2 lengths at the opening fraction in :26.2. En route to the half in :55.1, Chelsis Choice closed that gap a bit from the outside, still sitting 10 lengths back in 10th. The gap closed to eight lengths at the three-quarters in 1:24, but the Big Jim - Justabitevil mare still had to make up ground from last going into the final turn. Using a last quarter clocked in :27.1, Chelsis Choice zipped home to nab the win by a head at the wire in 1:52.4. Getting Euchred (Doug McNair) finished second with Royal Tell (Travis Cullen) third.
Chelsi Hughes owns the six-year-old mare bred by Thomas Hughes. Chelsis Choice won her third race of the year and her sixth career race from 106 starts. She has $168,559 in lifetime earnings. She returned $40.10 to win from her longshot odds.
The $12,000 Pop Up Series Consolation for the same class was won by Duchenne ($3.70) and James MacDonald for trainer Anthony Beaton by 1-3/4 lengths in 1:52.4.
The first leg of the Pop Up Claiming Series, worth an $8,000 purse for each of two divisions, was also contested in two parts won by Dapper Fella ($5.70) and James MacDonald for Gerard Demers by four lengths in 1:53.2 as well as Papiamento ($4.20) and Doug McNair for Michael Stamp by a half length in 1:53.4.
To view Thursday's harness racing results, click the following link: Thursday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(Standardbred Canada)