With just over seven weeks remaining in the Ontario Sires Stakes season, Brad Forward is on course to repeat as the program’s top driver, adding three wins in Grassroots action at Hiawatha Horse Park on Thursday evening to the pair he captured at Georgian Downs on Tuesday
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Forward struck early at Hiawatha on Thursday, piloting Good Bad Lucky to a 1:55.4 score in the first $24,000 Grassroots division. The Camluck colt is trained by Bob McIntosh, who supplied Forward with both of his winning mounts at Georgian Downs on Tuesday.
The three-quarter length victory over fan favourite Raging Grin (Joe Hudon, Jr.) and Illbethejudgeothat (Kevin Wallis) was Good Bad Lucky’s second of the season and his first in Grassroots action. The youngster started his provincial stakes campaign at the Gold Series level, but failed to make a Gold Final in two attempts, so Windsor resident McIntosh and his partners Al McIntosh Holdings Inc. of Leamington and Dwight Stacey of Mitchell decided to give their homebred youngster a shot at the Grassroots program.
Through seven starts Good Bad Lucky now has two wins and one second for earnings of $28,075.
Forward finished third with another McIntosh trainee in the next Grassroots skirmish, and then piloted Q Rock to a second-place finish in the third split, before sweeping back to the Hiawatha winner’s circle in the last two divisions.
Aboard Bill Robinson trainee Warrawee Lad in Race 8, Forward controlled the pace from start to finish, earning the Million Dollar Cam son his second Grassroots victory in four starts. Lucks Acquisition (Robert Shepherd) closed hard to finish within half a length of Warrawee Lad in the 1:55.3 mile, while fan favourite Daleys Interest (Terry Kerr) had to settle for third.
Frank Loyens of Denfield and Harry Loyens of Ilderton share ownership on Warrawee Lad, who has two wins and two thirds to his credit through seven starts, and has banked $33,392.
In the last Grassroots division, Forward also used front end tactics to land Lyons Frank his first Grassroots trophy. The Shawn Robinson trainee halted the Hiawatha teletimer at 1:57.2, four lengths ahead of Wildcats Terror (George Zirnis) and Steel Angel (Robert Shepherd).
Joseph Lyons Mound of Burford owns Lyons Frank, who has three wins, two seconds and one third tallied in 12 starts for earnings of $22,192. Through three Grassroots appearances, Thursday’s victory was the Camluck son’s first top five result.
The other Grassroots divisions went to P L Dangerous (Robert Shepherd) in 1:56.3 and Mister Russ (Simon Allard) in 1:55.4. The two-year-old pacing colts will make their fifth start at Rideau Carleton Raceway on October 1.
Thursday’s Grassroots skirmish wrapped up Hiawatha Horse Park’s 2009 Ontario Sires Stakes season, which also featured outstanding performances by the three-year-old trotting fillies, the two-year-old trotting fillies and the three-year-old pacing fillies.
To view Thursday's harness racing results, click here.
(With files OSS)