Splurge On Me tallied her third Grassroots win on Tuesday evening, Sept. 17 as the three-year-old trotting fillies wrapped up their regular season at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
With regular reinsman Trevor Henry in the race bike Splurge On Me powered to the front from post 6 and never looked back. The Kadabra daughter cruised through fractions of :28, :57.4 and 1:27.1 and then opened six lengths on her peers in the stretch, trotting under the wire in 1:55.1. Favourite Rebellious Lady settled for second and Galaxy Seelster was six more lengths back in third.
“She’s a nice filly. She doesn’t do much wrong,” said Henry. “She was stronger tonight at the wire.”
With three wins, one third and one seventh in her five regular season Grassroots appearances, Splurge On Me leads the three-year-old trotting fillies into the Sept. 28 Semi-Finals at Woodbine Mohawk Park with 164 points. The top five finishers from each Semi-Final will advance to the Oct. 5 Grassroots Championships at the Campbellville oval.
“I think there’s three good fillies probably and I think she’s one of them. It will just depend on post position and how things work out,” said Henry about Splurge On Me’s post season prospects, ranking Halo Its Me and Lefkada as the other top fillies.
Henry steers Splurge On Me for trainer Bob McIntosh and his co-owner C S X Stables. The partners also bred the filly, who boosted her sophomore record to eight wins, one second, two thirds and earnings of $82,885 through 15 starts. A two-time Grassroots winner last season, Splurge On Me finished fifth in her Semi-Final and seventh in the Final and Henry would like to see the filly improve on those results this season.
“She’s a bigger filly now of course, but she always had good manners and everything. She’s just bigger and more mature,” said Henry. “She can race any way, but she’s better out of a hole actually. Where it might fit better is if she gets to the final and somebody’s got some speed that she can follow; she’s better that way actually than off the front.”
The other two division winners, Lefkada and Petro Hall, also advanced to the post season.
Starting from post 1, favourite Lefkada got away fourth as Witches N Angels led the field of seven to a :27.3 opening quarter. Witches N Angels continued to lead by the :57.1 half but driver Scott Wray had Lefkada on the move, circling three wide around Order Mattie as she parked. On top by two lengths at three-quarters in 1:26.4, Lefkada cruised home to a three-length victory in a 1:56 personal best. Cambridge Kate finished second and Angelic Speed was third.
The win was Lefkada’s second in Grassroots action and her third lifetime. The E L Titan daughter was unraced at two and now has seven starts under her belt for trainer Jack Wray of London and his partners Thomas Wray and Douglas Dunbar. With two wins and one eighth in three Grassroots appearances the filly wraps up the regular season with 101 points, putting her third in the point standings.
Petro Hall earned her first Grassroots win in a roundabout manner when favourite Halo Its Me went inside two pylons coming off the final turn and was placed from first back to second. Petro Hall, who did all the work through fractions of :27.1, :56 and 1:25.1 and trotted under the wire in 1:55, was driven to the win by Louis-Philippe Roy.
“She’s a little bit of a weird filly. She’s not the most consistent, but when she’s good she can be among the top Grassroots fillies, like she proved tonight,” said Roy. “It depends on how she feels.”
Roy steers the Angus Hall daughter for trainer Victor Puddy and owners Lloyd Stone, James Ruhl, Dr. Charles Hall and Michael Kwietniowski. In four Grassroots starts she recorded one win, two thirds and one fifth for a point tally of 79 and seventh spot in the standings.
Grassroots action continues at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Thursday night, Sept. 19 as the two-year-old trotting fillies wrap up their regular season. The freshman fillies will kick things off at 7:10 pm in the first race and also compete in Races 6 and 8.
(Ontario Sires Stakes)
To view Tuesday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Tuesday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.