Stonebridge Thrill bested his stablemate at the wire in one of two $20,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots divisions at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Monday (Sept. 16) evening as one of four top performers from the Anthony Beaton Stable on the card.
Beaton had a pair of starters in both OSS Grassroots divisions for sophomore pacing colts and geldings and they returned with a record of 1-2-1 for the evening tally.
Mcpleasant (James MacDonald) was the first to the quarter timer in :26.4, while his stablemate Stonebridge Thrill (Tyler Borth) was caught on the outside in fourth. Borth moved Stonebridge Thrill along the pylons before the :54.3 half while Do Better took over from Mcpleasant as the leader. Before the three-quarters in 1:22.4, Stonebridge Thrill was out on the move again, following the cover of Mcpleasant. A miscue by Do Better left the stablemates to battle for victory at the wire. Both pacing a 1:49.4 final mile time, Stonebridge Thrill did the better work with his :26.3 last quarter to win by a half length in 1:49.4. Chalk Hanover (Jody Jamieson) was third.
Stonebridge Thrill is a three-year-old son of Bettors Delight and the Somebeachsomewhere mare Inverse Hanover owned by Mac and Carol Nichol. He won his first race of the year and third race from 22 starts in a career best time, pushing his lifetime sum to $86,986.
The Vicar ($2.40) seemed to get away to a tough start and had to move from seventh on the outside at the quarter in :26.4 to first on the outside at the half in :55 and then, leading the rest of the way to victory by a head in 1:50.1. Jonathan Drury was in the sulky for Tyler Moore and owner Glb Stable. Stablemates of Anthony Beaton's stable, Century Komodo (Doug McNair) and Best Night Ever (James MacDonald) finished second and third in the mile, respectively.
The sophomore Artspeak - St Lads Billiejean gelding moved his seasonal record to 8-3-0 in 14 starts and has earned $77,049 of his $81,782 in career earnings this year to date. The final mile time was a new career mark for The Vicar.
After Monday's fifth leg, the sophomore male pacers return to action on Sept. 27 for the consolation and Sept. 28 for the final, both at Mohawk.
All Gas No Brakes ($2.40) never found the pylons in the $20,000 Pop Up Trot Series Final, working his way from sixth to a 3-1/4 length victory in 1:54.4. James MacDonald piloted the winning drive for Dominic Gladu and owner Thestable Allgas Nobreaks.
The five-year-old Uncle Peter - Norse Comer gelding completed a sweep of the Pop Up Series for non-winners of $18,000 (fillies and mares $22,500) in 2024 with also eligible non-winners of $1,400 (fillies and mares $1,750) per start in 2024 in a minimum of 10 starts.
To view Monday's harness racing results, click the following link: Monday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(Standardbred Canada)