The card of harness racing on Friday, Sept. 1 at Woodbine Mohawk Park featured a trio of Ontario Sires Stakes Gold divisions for the sophomore pacers, with Stockade Seelster and Nick Gallucci emerging as the stars of the evening.
Stockade Seelster outclassed his provincial counterparts on Friday in the single $158,100 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold division for three-year-old male pacers. Driver Jody Jamieson got the 1-2 choice away midpack early as Moment Is Here (James MacDonald) left for command and landed on the lead through a :26.1 opening quarter before being cleared by Verdun (Louis-Philippe Roy). Jamieson and Stockade Seelster didn't see the rail for the first half of the mile, clearing to the lead after a sharp :53.2 half.
MacDonald made his move from third with Moment Is Here midway through the far turn and started to advance on Stockade Seelster through the 1:21 third quarter but Stockade Seelster would not be denied on this occasion. These two sophomores traded blows in midstretch, with Stockade Seelster delivering the knockout in the final sixteenth. Macs Delight (Jonathan Drury) emerged as a fresh threat late, but Stockade Seelster had enough separation and bested that rival by more than a length in a lifetime best 1:48.4. Moment Is Here stayed for third.
"He is tough, and he proved it last time out in Pocono," said Jamieson after the win. "I just kind of took my time getting there, even though it was still a fast half....James gave him a little scare on the outside there and he just digs back in and goes. He's an awesome horse."
Dr. Ian Moore trains Stockade Seelster (State Treasurer - Soiree Seelster) for Sally & Paul MacDonald of P.E.I. and Ontario. His summary now sits at 14-2-3 from 22 lifetime starts with more than $1.33 million in earnings. He returned $3.10 to win.
Upsets were the order of the night in the two $101,300 OSS Gold divisions for three-year-old pacing fillies.
In the first division, Mist Amber and driver Sylvain Filion breezed home in :26.1 from sixth and last at the head of the lane to prevail in a four-horse photo and win in a lifetime best 1:50.3. Fellow longshot Lady Get Lucky (Trevor Henry) was next best ahead of favoured One Last Wish (Paul MacDonell) and second choice Cheesy Smile (Bob McClure).
"I just went with the flow," admitted driver Filion after the win. "They were pacing pretty good up front and around the last turn she kind of swelled up so I thought maybe we have a shot. And she dug in."
Trainer John Pentland of Dorchester, Ont. also owns Mist Amber (Betterthancheddar - Amber Hanover), now a seven-time winner as a sophomore but none bigger than this one. The filly, who started the year racing in the conditioned ranks at Western Fair, was winless in three Grassroots attempts this year before the upset score on Friday. She paid $34.80 to win, and the $50,650 winner's share of the purse nearly doubled her lifetime earnings to $115,536.
Like Mist Amber, Savethelastdance was sixth and the third quarter in her Ontario Sires Stakes Gold division. Like Mist Amber, Savethelastdance was one of the longshots in her OSS Gold division. Like Mist Amber, Savethelastdance rallied late to pick off the early leaders. Pacing home in :26.3 for driver James MacDonald, Savethelastdance boogied under the wire nearly two lengths better than Ima Doll (Tyler Borth) for the career best 1:51.3 upset tally. Talk Curdy To Me (Louis-Philippe Roy) completed the triactor ticket.
"This is the shock of the year, to be honest with you," trainer Nick Gallucci told Woodbine's Randy Waples after the win. "I'm still in disbelief. She really surprised us tonight.
"She had a few minor issues and she just wasn't really performing the way we were hoping. So we gave her a month. We tried swimming her. That didn't really work out, so we just gave her some stall rest / turnout and she's come back. I really have to give a lot of credit on this filly to Peter Hamilton. I get a little frustrated with her, and he's just been calm as can be...and that showed tonight. The way she was able to rate the whole mile and finish her mile, he did a great job with her."
The three-year-old sister to 2022 O'Brien Award winner Silver Label, Savethelastdance (Bettors Delight - Hidden Gem) is owned by her breeder, Millar Farms of Stouffville, Ont. Her lifetime summary now stands at 6-0-1 from 12 starts with $232,534 in earnings. Sent off at 24-1, she paid $50 to win.
With her win in the eighth race on Friday night, Savethelastdance was part of a Millar Farms / Gallucci natural hat trick that started in the race prior with Velvet Stinger ($11.20), the seventh race winner in a lifetime best 1:49.4. Savethelastdance won the eighth, but her sister Silver Label was bested in the very next race. The horse that ended her three-race win streak: stablemate Prohibition Legal ($5.20), pacing home in :25.3 for Louis-Philippe Roy after a pocket ride from before the half to score in a lifetime best 1:50 in the $42,000 Free For All Pace. Silver Label was three-quarters of a length back in second, with Western Wish (Borth) next best.
An O'Brien Award winner in 2021, Prohibition Legal (Big Jim - Catch A Wish) sports a 10-5-2 career summary from 19 appearances with more than $844,141 in earnings. The win was her first of the year in just two four-year-old starts.
To view the results from the Friday card of harness racing at Woodbine Mohawk Park, click the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.