Trevor Henry wrapped up the Grassroots regular season with two wins at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Friday night, padding his lead atop the Ontario Sires Stakes driver standings.
Heading into Friday night’s regular season finale for the two-year-old pacing fillies, Henry had a 56-point lead over his perpetual rival Sylvain Filion in the Lampman Cup race. With drives in all four divisions and wins with Kat and So Delightful, Henry added 12 points to his tally while Filion spent the night driving at Hoosier Park in Indiana.
Henry picked up his first win in the second $23,500 division with Kat. Starting from Post four, Henry sent the fan favourite straight to the front where she reeled off fractions of :26.4, :56.3 and 1:25 and then delivered a gritty effort down the stretch to hang on for a nose victory in 1:54. Shiraz Seelster snuck up the inside to be second and Siochan was three-quarters of a length back in third.
“We got stung pretty good the first quarter, but she hung tough. She raced good,” said Henry. “She’s been a good filly all along. She’s really big, she’ll probably be a better three-year-old. She’s a really big filly.”
Dr. Ian Moore trains Kat for Wilma and James MacKenzie of Ennismore, Ont., but was not on hand to celebrate the filly’s first lifetime win. The Cambridge, Ont. resident was with Filion at Hoosier Park where his Gold Series star Century Farroh captured the $170,000 Jennas Beach Boy for three-year-old pacing colts.
While she had not found the winner’s circle before Friday, Kat had been a model of consistency through her first seven starts, finishing second five times and third twice. The win bumped the Hes Watching daughter’s Grassroots point total to 100 and assured her of a berth in next Friday’s (September 27) Semi-Finals at Woodbine Mohawk Park. A top five finish in the Semi-Final would see the filly advance to the October 5 Grassroots Championship.
Henry’s second Grassroots win came in the third division with So Delightful, who also went gate-to-wire from post four The Bettors Delight daughter cruised through fractions of :27.2, :57 and 1:25.3 before pacing under the wire one and one-quarter lengths the best in 1:53.4. Fan favourite Coqui Coqui settled for second and Kit was elevated from fourth to third when Lady Natasha was found to have driven inside two pylons in the final turn.
“I was happy with her,” said Henry. “She’s consistent, but tonight she raced really well on the front for a small filly. She’s from a really good family. She has the pedigree to be good.”
Henry and So Delightful also won a division of the Grassroots season opener at Woodbine Mohawk Park on July 9. In between wins, the filly finished ninth, fifth and second in her Grassroots outings for a point tally of 130 and sole ownership of third spot in the division standings.
Trainer Bob McIntosh, of Windsor, Ont., bred and shares ownership of So Delightful with Al McIntosh Holdings Inc. of Leamington, Ont., and C S X Stables of Liberty Center, Ohio. The filly’s dam You See L A is a half-sister to $1.9 million winner Thinking Out Loud and award-winning broodmare West Of L A.
In addition to the Grassroots victories, Henry also won a pair of overnight events, one with McIntosh trainee Judge Ken and the other with Moore trainee Denali Seelster.
Another Grassroots division went to Mach My Kiss, who picked up her second straight Grassroots win in spite of being saddled with post 10. Guelph, Ont. resident Doug McNair piloted the Mach Three daughter to the 1:53.4 personal best for Rockwood, Ont. trainer Rob Fellows and his wife Yolanda, and Erna Corbeil of Beamont, Alta. Trizzle Trazzle and Isla Seelster were a length back in second and third.
Capistrano recorded her third Grassroots win in the last division to secure top spot in the standings with 175 points. The Warrawee Needy filly, with driver Anthony MacDonald aboard, sprinted down the stretch to score a two and one-half length victory in 1:54.2. Preeminence was second and Rose Run Victory was third.
Harry Poulton trains Capistrano for fractional ownership group TheStable Capistrano Group of Guelph, Ont., whose members are looking forward to seeing the youngster compete in the Grassroots Semi-Finals.
“I couldn’t be prouder of this filly. Harry and his barn have done a great job with her,” said MacDonald, who is also the co-founder and president of TheStable.ca. “Every year we have horses arrive from smaller breeding operations to partner with us and Capistrano was one of those from last year. She has over 30 owners and she’s been a real breath of fresh air for us this year at TheStable.ca.”
Before the Grassroots Semi-Finals get underway next Friday, Woodbine Mohawk Park will host the last Gold Series leg for the two-year-old trotting fillies on Tuesday, Sept. 24. The fillies will compete for $108,000 in races five and seven on the Tuesday evening program, which begins at 7:10 p.m.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(With files from OSS)