Three-year-old pacing fillies were out in full force at Hiawatha Horse Park on Thursday evening, with five OSS Grassroots divisions served up as part of the 11-race program
.
Shipps Xanadu, fresh off a lifetime best performance of 1:53.1 at Mohawk Racetrack on September 9, used her off-the-pace skills to haul home the hardware in the opening division for the tandem of driver Ross Battin and trainer Roger Kopas. The daughter of Mach Three-Keystone Dawn was treated to a second-over trip, and that certainly played a part in achieving the narrow victory over Tilly Seelster, who came up a neck short in her bid to go all the way. Third in the $24,000 tilt was Lyons Puddin Pie.
Harold G Shipp Stable of Mississauga, ON owns the youngster, who was sent off as the 7-5 choice in the nine-filly affair. The victory was the sixth of the season for the career winner of $238,242.
Cameron Lucky also used come-from-behind tactics to snare an OSS win. The Camluck-Lartesienne miss made a three-wide move on the way to the three-quarter pole for driver Bruce Richardson, and from there she used a :29-second final frame to post the 1:53.2 victory over Three Charms, who was 2-1/4 lengths in arrears. Pearl Handlepistol was third despite being parked every step of the mile.
Ginny St. Charles trains the career winner of $82,770 for owner Michael Hale of Livonia, MI. Unraced as a rookie, Cameron Lucky has flourished this season as noted in the 5-6-5 record she has assembled from 19 trips to the track.
Carsons Maverick went wire-to-wire in the third division for driver Mike Saftic, who hustled the Gregg McNair pupil through fractions of :27.2, :58.2 and 1:27 before using a :29.3 kicker to win by 5-1/4 lengths over Back Yard Baby in 1:56.3. Ovation Killean rounded out the top three finishers.
Dave Carson of Listowel, ON holds the papers on the daughter of Western Maverick-Cammelloni. After going 1-for-8 as a rookie, the career winner of $54,815 has followed up with a 3-4-2 record in this year’s sophomore season.
Mach Lady got up in the final strides to take the fourth division, and she did so in a career-best clocking of 1:54.1 for trainer/driver Bill Davis. The daughter of Mach Three-Tampa Town, who was sent off at odds of 12-1, tracked cover in the late stages of the mile before using a :29.2 final frame to post the head decision over Chappies Girl. Stonebridge Damsel rallied from far back to grab the show dough.
Jeff and Debbie Elchuk of Surrey, BC own the seven-time winner who now boasts a 3-2-2 record from 16 assignments this season. She has potted in excess of $78,000 this year and close to $150,000 to date.
Modern Cinderella started the season 0-for-9, but since then she’s rattled off three consecutive victories for owner/trainer Erv Abdulov of London, ON. She captured the final division in a time of 1:55.1 for driver Trevor Henry, who had her battling on or near the lead for the majority of the mile before driving off to win by 3-1/4 lengths over Smartygirl. Cheryls Surprise had a wide trip, but she managed to hang tough and grab the third-place prize.
The daughter of Modern Art-Southwind Stellar, who went 2-for-7 last season, now boasts a 3-2-0 record from her dozen trips postward this year. She’s put more than $50,000 on her card this season, and that’s helped push her lifetime earnings to $78,265.
To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results – Hiawatha Horse Park.