Dabarndawgswatchin picked up her second Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series victory in the sole $157,200 three-year-old pacing filly division at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Friday, Sept. 24 and heads into the post-season on a two-race win streak.
Lining up in post four, driver Jody Jamieson sent Dabarndawgswatchin straight down to the rail in fourth as Western Wish led the field of eight to a :27 quarter and a :55.2 half. Heading for the 1:23.1 three-quarters, Jamieson was able to angle Dabarndawgswatchin out behind favourite Voelz Delight and follow that filly deep into the stretch. Once the Guelph, Ont. resident showed Dabarndawgswatchin an open lane, however, the filly kicked into gear and powered by the leaders to a three-quarter-length win in 1:50.4. Voelz Delight settled for second and Western Wish stayed game for third.
“Last week (September 17) was the second time we raced her off the pace and she won both times, so we thought we’d better keep doing it,” said trainer Dave Menary. “It all worked out and we ended up in the right spot.”
Cambridge, Ont. resident Menary trains Dabarndawgswatchin for owners/breeders Julie Ferguson of Greely, Ont., and Lloyd Stone of Portland, Ont. She occupies a special place in his barn, not just because of her success, but because of his long relationship with her sire Hes Watching, dam Addison Bay and breeders.
“I was really excited to see her come to the barn because it’s the first horse where I ever trained the sire and the dam. I raced Addison Bay for them and she made around half a million ($436,237) and we had a lot of fun racing her, so to get to train one out of her by Hes Watching, it’s been pretty fun,” said Menary.
“She’s just a monster of a filly. She has a lot more size than him (Hes Watching) or her (Addison Bay),” the trainer continued. “I think she’s going to be a good horse for them. They’re the nicest people you could train for and I think she’s going to be a good filly for them for a long time.”
Dabarndawgswatchin wraps up the Gold Series regular season with 125 points, good enough for third spot in the standings behind reigning champ Scarlett Hanover, who skipped Friday’s Gold event after winning the historic Jugette at the Delaware County Fair on Wednesday, Sept. 22, and Voelz Delight. The top 10 fillies will return to Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday, Oct. 16 for their $225,000 Super Final.
On Saturday, Sept. 25, part of an action-packed Mohawk Million card, Pepsi North America Cup winner Desperate Man and his three-year-old pacing colt peers return to Ontario Sires Stakes action in a single $155,600 Gold Series division.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(With files from OSS)