With the Ontario Sires Stakes Super Finals just around the corner, trainer Nick Gallucci has to be feeling pretty good considering he’ll be sending a ferocious, three-headed monster in that direction.
The trio of Prohibition Legal, Velvet Stinger and Silver Label give Gallucci and owner/breeder Millar Farms a formidable 1-2-3 punch going into the $225,000 season ender in the provincial program.
Velvet Stinger did her part for her connections thanks to a 1:51.4 triumph in her $100,400 division.
James MacDonald wasted no time in putting her on the lead from Post 5, and together they led the group through fractions of :27, :56.1 and 1:24 before sprinting home in :27.4 to win by three-quarters of a length over Speaker Nancy. Goudawon rounded out the Trifecta ticket.
The daughter of Bettors Delight-Our Hot Majorette boasts a record of 8-1-0 from 13 trips to the track this season. Her lifetime earnings climbed over $267,000 with the victory.
Prohibition Legal came into the second division looking for her first win of the season, and she got it in eye-catching fashion with MacDonald again at the helm.
The 1-2 favourite got away third while stablemate Silver Label rolled to the top and cut the opening quarter of :28.1. MacDonald had his charge rolling as soon as the field entered the backstretch, and in a matter of strides Prohibition Legal found her way to the lead.
She sprinted through middle splits of :55.4 and 1:23.3 before using a :27.2 final frame to win by a half-length margin over Silver Label in 1:51. Intothemysticmoon rallied from last to finish third in the six-filly affair.
The daughter of Big Jim-Catch A Wish, who went 8-for-9 as a rookie, worked her way into the win column for the first time this season from six attempts. Her 1-2-2 seasonal record has helped her lift her lifetime earnings over $726,000.
As for MacDonald, he celebrated another multiple-win performance at Mohawk thanks to the five trips to victory lane on the 10-race program.
After back-to-back wins in preliminary legs of the Pop Up Series, The Prince marched to the front and went the distance en route to capturing the $25,000 final during Monday’s 10-race card at the Campbellville, Ont oval.
The Prince powered to the top from Post 7 with MacDonald aboard and together they sliced their way through fractions of :28, :57.1 and 1:26 before summoning up :29.2 closing speed to win by a half-length margin over the pocket-sitting Thee Desperado. Oh Line rallied late to finish third.
Sent off as the even-money choice, the Chantal Mitchell-trained four-year-old son of Archangel-Princess Lilly improved his seasonal record to 4-1-4 from 18 starts with the win. The 11-time winner has banked over $158,000 to date for Imagine Stable and Party Don’t Stop Racing.
MacDonald also tacked on triumphs with No Free Lunch and Maple Leaf Bound to help bring his yearly win total to 339 — a personal, single season record. He’s also on the verge of manufacturing his highest money-earning season ever. He ended the night with more than $7.4 million in earnings for the season, and that’s a little more than $120,000 shy of bettering the record he set last season when he eclipsed the $7.5 million mark.
To view results for Monday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Monday Results – Woodbine Mohawk Park.