The Bob McIntosh-trained two-year-old pacing filly Lauren delivered on her pari-mutuel promise in a single $40,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold elimination featured at Mohawk Racetrack on Friday night
. Just one of 11 fillies was eliminated from the field vying for a spot in next weekend’s $130,000 final.
Lauren left alertly from Post 6 with Ron Pierce in the bike and reached the opening quarter in :27.2. As the fillies headed down the backstretch, Imagine Semalu (Luc Ouellette) rushed up from fourth to take over and hit the half-mile mark in :55.3.
Village Janus (Mark MacDonald) then moved underway from the middle of the pack flushing Lauren back out just before the three-quarters in 1:24.2. Pierce sent his charge after the leader and she took over down the lane to score in 1:53, equaling her lifetime mark. Stonebridge Damsel (Jack Moiseyev) finished one and a quarter length behind in second with Bunkhouse Babe (Steve Condren) prevailing in a photo for show.
Lauren paid $5.50 to win as the 8-5 popular choice. The Modern Art-One Cadet filly, who won her first OSS Gold elimination and final on August 15 at Rideau Carleton Raceway, is now six-for-eight in her career with $132,756 earned. She is owned and bred by Gordon and Claudia Wright of Charlotte, Michigan.
Here is a look at the field for the $130,000 final, set for Saturday, September 25 at Mohawk:
1. Monkey On My Back - Rick Zeron
2. Shipps Xanadu - Tony Kerwood
3. Bunkhouse Babe - Steve Condren
4. Village Janus - Mark MacDonald
5. Pearl Handlepistol - Mario Baillargeon
6. Stonebridge Damsel - Jack Moiseyev
7. Lauren - Ron Pierce
8. Lady Jill - Randy Waples
9. Imagine Semalu - Luc Ouellette
10. Lyons Carrie - Jody Jamieson
AE1. Lyons Puddin Pie - Phil Hudon
Friday's card also featured a pair of consolations for two-year-old trotters who did not advance to tomorrow night's $500,000 William Wellwood Memorial Trot or $466,000 Peaceful Way Stakes finals.
In the $50,000 Wellwood consolation for colts, the 4-5 favourite Attorney Hanover, driven by Luc Ouellette, flashed early gate speed but was eventually shuffled back to fourth. As the field headed around the final turn, Ouellette angled the son of Angus Hall-Astraea Hanover wide and he used a :28.4 final frame to get up in deep stretch for the 1:55.2 maiden-breaking score over Pegasus Blue Chip (Trevor Ritchie). Edit (Ron Pierce) finished third. The time of the mile was just one-fifth of a second off the Canadian season’s record for freshmen trotting colts, set by Broad Bahn in his Wellwood elimination last week. Attorney Hanover, who finished fourth in that elim, is trained by Bjorn Noren for Larsgoran Jonsson of Orebro, Sweden.
The fillies faced off in the $50,000 Peaceful Way consolation and the popular Cedar Dove (Ron Pierce) carved out all the fractions but wandered out wide in the stretch giving Fitness Girl and Steve Condren, the 4-1 third choice, the opportunity to sweep past on the inside. Fitness Girl moved first up from fifth past the half and unleashed a :28.1 final kicker to win by over a length in a career-best 1:56. Cedar Dove was second with Finaltab Hanover (Luc Ouellette) finishing third. Fitness Girl lowered Crys Dream's Canadian season's record for freshmen trotting fillies by two-fifths of a second, which was set on September 2 at Mohawk in the Champlain Stakes.
Steve Elliott trains the daughter of Muscles Yankee-Marie E Hanover, who was fourth in her Peaceway Way elimination to Crys Dream. She is now two-for-six in her career for the Bay Pond Racing Stable of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.
To view Friday's results, click here.