Odds-on favourite Caviart Audrey brushed to the lead up the backstretch and held firm to the finish of a 1:52.4 mile to take the second of two $35,000 eliminations for the Shes A Great Lady on Saturday (Sept. 19) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
The 1-5 favourite floated into fourth moving to a :27.1 first quarter as Lady Arthur slid past early-leader Voelz Delight to take the top. Caviart Audrey soon ranged to the front and cleared command before a :55.3 half and opened her lead to three-quarters in 1:25 as Twin B Sunkissed tipped first over and matched strides with pocket-sitter Lady Arthur.
Twin B Sunkissed took aim at Caviart Audrey in the stretch and inched closer to the leader. However despite drifting to the finish, Caviart Audrey maintained a three-quarter length advantage to the finish while Twin B Sunkissed settled for second. Paulas Bet Hanover rallied from last for third with Voelz Delight and Lady Arthur rounding the finalists.
“She was definitely better than last week I thought, but not quite as good as the first week she was here,” winning driver Yannick Gingras said after the race. “I think she’s probably 80 per cent, and that goes to show you how much I love this filly; how great I think she is. I think she’s got another notch. She’s got to get where she’s 100 per cent. At her best she’s a scary filly.”
A Somebeachsomewhere filly owned by Caviart Farms, Caviart Audrey won her fourth race from five starts, earning $126,737. Nancy Takter trains the $2.20 winner, who completed a sweep of the Shes A Great Lady eliminations for Yannick Gingras.
In the race prior, Gingras sent Scarlett Hanover to the front and kept 8-5 second choice Notorious Pink locked in the box through slow fractions before accelerating to a 1:53.2 victory in the first Shes A Great Lady elim.
Alumni Seelster sprinted to the lead from post 7 while Notorious Pink settled for second and Scarlett Hanover rushed into third. Gingras opted to push Scarlett Hanover for the front, prompting Notorious Pink to vacate pocket by a :27.2 first quarter and circle to the lead before yielding command to the favourite.
Best Head West edged first over from fifth by a :56 half and drew closer to the pacesetter as the field tightened towards three-quarters in 1:26. Scarlett Hanover initiated the sprint for home with Best Head West giving chase wide of Notorious Pink attempting to shake loose. The odds-on favourite hit the finish one-and-a-half lengths better than Notorious Pink, while Best Head West, Spellcheck Hanover and Alumni Seelster round the finalists.
“I think she’s been pretty good all along, but I learn a little about her too every week,” Gingras said after the race. “She’s definitely super sharp right now. That’s not the way I wanted to race her. We had to change plans going into the first turn. I would really rather have her off a helmet or something like that, but it wasn’t going to work out for me—I was going to have to be first up at Bobby [McClure and Notorious Pink]. Of course I kept him locked in—I know his filly had a lot of pace but that’s racing and I’m trying to win the race.”
Winning her fifth race from nine starts, Scarlett Hanover has earned $223,140 for owners Burke Racing Stable LLC, Frank Baldachino, JandT Silva Purnel & Libb and Weaver Bruscemi LLC. Ashleigh Hensley trains the Bettors Delight filly who paid $3.50 to win.
The Shes A Great Lady eliminations were one of the handful of major stakes events on the Saturday card at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Recaps from the other races are available at the following links:
To view the results from Saturday's card of harness racing at Woodbine Mohawk Park, click the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.