Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Grassroots competitors had their final showdowns in eight $75,000 finals at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday, Sept. 27.
Blue Jean Gal glided home with the greatest of ease to take the final for two-year-old trotting fillies.
It was Blue Rare (Chris Christoforou) who swept to the early lead, followed by Rare Legacy (James MacDonald), Makina Run For It (J.R. Plante), and Miss Mass Appeal (Travis Cullen), while Bert Renaud looked to guide 4-5 choice Blue Jean Gal to the pylons entering the first turn but had to press pause momentarily before tucking in sixth.
Blue Rare took her rivals through an opening panel in :27.1, but Rare Legacy popped out soon after and quickly took over the proceedings. Blue Jean Gal, riding a five-race win streak, was given her cue by Renaud nearing the half in :57.4 and responded with a confident outside brush in pursuit of the unchallenged pacesetter. Rare Legacy’s lead began to dwindle as a revved-up Blue Jean Gal ranged up to her outside ahead of three quarters in 1:27.
Renaud maintained a patient hand down the lane, while a game Rare Legacy refused to throw in the towel. With less than 75 meters to the wire, Blue Jean Gal, under no urging from Renaud, finally wore down her rival and went on to secure a 2-1/4-length score in 1:55.3. Rare Legacy was second, and a late-charging Twin B Showbiz (Tyler Borth) arrived on the scene late to net third.
“I wasn't quite sure about the nine-hole,” said Renaud. “I know I got away nice all year with her, but I never really had to push her off the gate. So, I didn't really know. Obviously, I didn't get away as good as I wanted, but I never really had to ask her. She always did everything on her own, so it was just making sure I don’t get into trouble and give her a clear path.
"She's made my job so easy the last couple of starts. You can drive her like an old horse. She’s a pleasure to drive.”
The win was the latest triumph for the Julie Walker-trained daughter of Trixton-Pine Knolls, who is now 7-0-0 from nine lifetime starts and has earned $98,500. A homebred for Leonard Gamble of Etobicoke, Ont., Blue Jean Gal came into Saturday’s tilt off her fifth consecutive win and third straight score in the Grassroots as she won the second fifth-leg division on Sept. 16 at Mohawk in 1:57.
Now, the opportunity to wade into OSS Super Final waters could be on the horizon.
“It's hard to pass on $300,000,” said Renaud. "If we get a chance, we'll give her a try.”
Blue Jean Gal paid $3.60 to win.
After third-place finishes in her two most recent Grassroots events, No Better Air established close early position and lifted late to seal a lifetime-best 1:53 victory in the final for rookie pacing fillies.
Driver Trevor Henry put No Better Air in play at race's outset, and the pair pushed clear of Malicia Speed (Jody Jamieson) and P N G Shadow (Borth) to win a :27.1 battle to the opening quarter. Upon reaching the backstretch, 3-5 favourite Romantic Beauty (MacDonald) angled off the pegs from fifth to take aim at the front flight but stumbled as soon as she began her move. Simultaneously, P N G Shadow brushed to the fore out of third and seized control heading to the half in :56.4 before giving way to Lavender Seelster (Paul MacKenzie), who sustained uncovered gains from sixth on approach to the far turn.
Through the bend, Lavender Seelster edged two lengths clear of P N G Shadow while Romantic Beauty battled back to within striking range, and Henry pointed No Better Air — who was shuffled back to fourth — off the pegs to take aim at the leaders at three-quarters in 1:24.2.
Off the corner for home, Lavender Seelster drifted to the two-path, opening up the inside lane for P N G Shadow to challenge in mid-stretch. But No Better Air posed the biggest threat down the centre of the racetrack, and she responded to Henry's encouragement to strike the lead in the final meters and edge clear by 1-1/4 lengths at the winning post. Lavender Seelster narrowly held onto second over P N G Shadow.
"It wasn't really the [trip] I was hoping would come, but it worked out," said Henry. "She doesn't seem to be able to carry it all the way this year; she's better off cover."
Trainer Scott McEneny co-owns No Better Air, who won for the third time in nine starts and increased her career earnings to $89,524, with Andrea Lea Racing Stables Inc. of Lakefield Gore, Que. and Aristi Varsakis of Hamilton, Ont. Glencairn Racing Stable Inc. bred the Cattlewash-Claireabell filly.
"She's always been a nice filly," said Henry. "Scott really liked her when she was in Florida, and she doesn't do anything wrong and she's just handy to drive. She can leave fast and stop on a dime."
As the second choice in the wagering, No Better Air returned $6.30 to win.
Foxy Amee was at the top of her game in the final for three-year-old trotting fillies.
The daughter of Muscle Mass-Highland Foxytrotr arrived at her championship engagement off a narrow neck win in her Grassroots divisional race on Sept. 15. This time, Foxy Amee didn’t need a photo finish.
The trio of Lil Sweet (Borth), Medley Seelster (Jamieson), and Shesamanalishi (Bob McClure) tussled for early command with Lil Sweet striking the front heading into the first turn while MacDonald, piloting 2-5 choice Foxy Amee, nestled his charge into fourth after leaving from post seven. It was Lil Sweet showing the way through an opening quarter in :27.1, but her lead was short-lived as Foxy Amee came calling soon after and seized control ahead of a half in :57.1.
The Paul MacDonell-trained Foxy Amee began to power away from her pursuers heading into the turn for home and held a 2-1/4-length advantage through three quarters in 1:25.3. Still comfortably in charge in early stretch, Foxy Amee was full of vigour in the late going and went on to post an authoritative three-length win in 1:55.1. Medley Seelster crossed the wire second but was disqualified and placed fourth for going inside two pylons in the stretch. Lil Sweet and Shesamanalishi, who had dead-heated for third, were elevated to a tie for second.
“[Foxy Amee] was very good tonight,” MacDonell said. “Actually, she’s been very good since day one. She’s all class and manners. She is a real pleasure to have in the barn."
Owned by Chris Storms and Michael Storms of Picton, Ont., Foxy Amee, who struck OSS Gold in a divisional leg in 2024, is now 8-5-1 from 18 starts and 5-3-0 from 10 races in 2025. The Highland Thoroughbred Farm-bred miss has now amassed $291,561 in purse earnings for her connections.
MacDonell noted the connections will see how the filly came out of the race, but if a spot does open in the Super Final, they will consider entering her.
Foxy Amee paid $2.80 to win.
Simply The Best was just that, scoring an easy victory in the final for sophomore filly pacers.
Driver Plante sent her out from post five and settled the Eric Nadeau-trained Simply The Best into the three-hole as Macapelo Seelster (Borth) led the field past the quarter in :25.4. Plante gave the sophomore daughter of All Bets Off-Sauble Claire her marching orders just past the three-eighths, and Simply The Best cleared to the lead before the half, which went in :54.3.
Early pocket-sitter All My Wishes (Travis Cullen), who was shuffled to third when Simply The Best took the lead, moved off the pegs just before the half to make her move but could apply only token pressure on the leader as they approached three-quarters in 1:22.4. Once the field straightened at the top of the lane, Simply The Best drew clear to prevail by 3-1/4 lengths in a dominant performance. She scored in 1:51.1 over 2-1 second-choice Sugar Pie Honey (MacDonald), who rallied through the stretch. Laydee Freight (Phil Hudon) finished third.
“She felt really good around the last turn,” Plante said after the race. “When Travis [Cullen] was beside me, she felt really good. She swelled right up and then she did the rest herself. She was super good.”
The win was Nadeau’s first in a Grassroots final.
“It feels amazing for the first time and especially this filly,” Nadeau said. “I credit the [previous] trainer [Marc-Andre Simoneau]… we kind of swapped with another filly from a Quebec sire. So, he gave me this one and I gave him mine.
“[Simply The Best has] always been sharp, like aggressive, a little bit more than you want, but it’s a good thing once they are a fighter. Like, last week, she fought the other horse coming by. So, I like that kind of attitude.”
This was Simply The Best’s fifth win in 14 starts this season, and it marked Plante’s first win in a Grassroots final.
‘It means a lot [winning a Grassroots final],” Plante said. “It’s super exciting to be in those kind of races and having a live one like that is even better. Super good.”
Bred by Lynne Bowen, Simply The Best is owned by Aurel Harvey Et Fils Inc., of Riviere-Malbaie, Que. She is now 10-for-24 lifetime with $111,716 in earnings.
Sent off as the 8-5 favourite, Simply The Best returned $5.50 to win.
Homebred L P Bay, seventh in point standings among rookie trotting males entering the finals, produced the biggest upset of the night as he won at 66-1.
Favourite Hot Country was first to the front for MacDonald, ahead of Toss Of The Dice (Travis Henry) and Great Trickster (Bruce Richardson). Raucous (Cullen) confronted the leader approaching the first turn, providing cover to Beau Knight (Jamieson) as Green Nineteen (Todd Ratchford) was caught three-wide. Raucous cleared past the :27.2 quarter, leaving Beau Knight to advance uncovered and pocket up. Hot Country stepped out from third before the :56.2 half, reclaiming command from Raucous. Dream For Peace (Borth) gained ground first-over into third on the final turn, followed by L P Bay (Mario Baillargeon). Hot Country reached three-quarters in 1:25.4
Fourth at the top of the stretch, L P Bay seemingly found another gear. He swept past Dream For Peace and the fading Raucous, overtaking Hot Country by 1-1/4 lengths to score in 1:56. Hot Country finished second, followed by Dream For Peace.
In the winner’s circle, Baillargeon said that his colt was aggressive leaving in previous starts
"I think he wanted to get out of there too quickly,” Baillargeon said. “[Trainer] Mark [Etsell] decided to put the hopples on him and he trained him with them and he trained great. Tonight, I just took my time coming out of there. We had the 10-hole and we got a covered trip."
He added that patience paid off with the son of 19-year-old broodmare Sos Respect, herself an OSS Gold winner at Mohawk as a two-year-old.
"At the beginning of the year, I thought [L P Bay] was a real deal — I thought he was a Gold colt,” Baillargeon said. “He just got too anxious a little bit on us, but tonight he raced great. He was nice and calm and I think the hobbles reassured him."
Bred by co-owner Terry Devos of Langton, Ont., trained by co-owner Mark Etsell of Rockwood, Ont., and co-owned by Peter Porter of Port Dover, Ont., L P Bay was making his first start wearing trotting hopples. He broke stride on Aug. 7 and Sept. 3 OSS Gold starts, frustrating in light of his going-away 2:00.4 victory in Grassroots Leg 2 on July 30 at Mohawk. The son of Trixton has earned $77,970 with three wins in nine starts.
Baillargeon said he knew his colt was strong when the twice-asked favourite was weakening.
"At the top of the stretch, I looked at James [MacDonald],” he said. “James seemed like he was done and [Hot Country] was in front by three, so I thought I had a good shot at the top of the stretch."
The Grassroots final win raised hopes for a return to Gold level.
"If he draws a little better than tonight, I think he can go with the Golds," said Baillargeon.
Odds On Bullfrog did not see the rail for the first three-eighths of a mile, then made the top shortly thereafter before providing his foes with a thorough thrashing in the final for freshman pacing males.
In the early going, the action was hot and heavy as Lyons Gustavofring (Jonathan Drury), Brindle (Borth), and D A Lets Dance (Billy Davis, Jr.) were in a scrum into the first turn. Brindle, despite leaving from post 10, grabbed the top at the quarter in :26.1. Odds On Bullfrog was just behind the early fray and drove on past Brindle at the three-eighths, and driver McClure had his horse moving well to the half in :54.4.
Odds On Bullfrog used explosive pace to extend his advantage to three lengths at three-quarters in 1:23.2. The Dr. Ian Moore-trained colt then put up a final quarter of :28.2 to put the finishing touches on a safe half-length win in 1:51.4 over a fast-closing Mega Moves (Jamieson). Lyons Gustavofring was third.
“When we first got him, he was a nice colt, and I liked him and I tried to buy into the colt,” Moore said. “They really didn’t want to [sell] because they like to have their own, Odds On Racing, which is fine.
“That was in December. Then, he trained well all winter, but nothing special. When he started racing, he had a couple of good qualifiers. And, then again, nothing special, but I him took over for a couple of weeks there, before he started the winning streak. When he got the fourth [in a Mohawk overnight on Aug. 22], he actually should have won that night, but he got locked in. I changed some training methods on him and it’s really worked. He’s really turned [it] around.”
The Doc is likely to write prescriptions that call for Ontario-breds moving forward.
“Well, this year, I’ve already indicated to my partners that we’re going to be buying practically all Ontario-sired horses,” Moore said. “I mean, there might be an odd one we get that they can’t resist, but that’s what we’re shooting for this year. This has been a great program and it still is.”
His driver was also impressed.
“I drove him maybe a month or two ago, and this is a completely different horse," McClure said. "In all honesty, he wasn’t nice to drive the first few times I drove him. It’s amazing, the turnaround and the work they put in. He was an absolute gem to drive tonight. Just kept pushing and the further we went, he started pulling away again. He’s gotten to be a real nice colt.
“Yeah, he did [dig in when Mega Moves was closing in late]. I tried to keep him going, but he was starting to, what I thought was tire, but then as soon as Jody came up beside him, away he went. [Regular driver Louis-Philippe Roy] did tell me that; he said you’ll think you’re beat five times, and then every time one comes, he just puts them away again. So Louis had kind of given me a heads-up on that, and he was spot on.”
The Bulldog Hanover-Odds On Naples colt picked up his fourth straight win after starting his career winless in five tries. Owned by Odds On Racing of Boca Raton, Fla., Odds On Bullfrog’s earnings now stand at $79,310. An Odds On Nourrir homebred, the winner returned $6.30 as the 2-1 second-choice.
Nickel And Dime entered the sophomore trotting colt final on a three-race winning streak, and the Mark Etsell trainee continued his run of success, but it required a gritty stretch drive and a lifetime-best 1:53 performance.
When the wings folded, second-choice Flanagan Sunshine and Hudon fired from post six. Travis Henry and Nickel And Dime, starting in post seven, followed the early leaver and took command on the way to a :27.1 opening panel. Racing to the half, Trevor Henry moved Pierre In Paris from fourth to the lead, pocketing the 7-5 favourite and clicking off a :56.2 half. Travis Henry sat with Nickel And Dime until midway through the last turn, when he moved him off the rail and to begin his assault on the leader.
It was a battle of Henry versus Henry in the stretch, as the persistent Pierre In Paris matched strides with Nickel And Dime through the lane. Etsell’s trotter narrowly separated himself from that rival in the final strides to capture his fourth consecutive victory by a neck. Rising Interest (Borth) rounded out the trifecta.
“He was kind of getting mad in the last turn, because he’s the kind of horse that once you let him get going, then he doesn’t like when you grab into him too much,” Henry said. “So, Trevor kind of came fast and I had to let him go, and then [Nickel And Dime] was getting mad. So, I was just making sure that he was going to get away. But that horse keeps coming all the time. So, he made my job easy.”
The victory was the first career Grassroots final score for Henry, and the second win of the night for Etsell, who also conditioned L P Bay.
“Oh, it’s great,” Henry said of the win. “Mark’s been so great to drive for, and the horse has been good. He’s been really good to me since I’ve been driving here. It’s awesome.”
Nickel And Dime started his three-year-old campaign in the barn of Matt Bax. The homebred finished off the board in two of three Grassroots legs before changing barns. Purchased in July by the partnership of Frank and Gennarino Lamacchia of St. George, Ont. and Tony Miceli and Deanmar Sons Stable of Mississauga, Ont., the gelding was turned over to Etsell, and he has flourished. Prior to the Grassroots tussle, Nickel And Dime captured four of six attempts for the trainer. He lined up behind the starting gate Saturday as the divisional points leader. He finished as Grassroots champion.
“We bought him online and I was just expecting a Prospect [Series] horse, to be honest, but I trained him up and he needed some equipment adjustments,” Etsell said in the winner’s circle. “He came out of a top stable, so I wasn’t expecting a lot. I just changed some rigging and shoeing. And he’s just gone forward.
“He’s very versatile. When he was racing for them, he was always coming off the pace. We’ve raced him a couple times up front now and he’s responded well.”
Bred by Bax Stable and Marshall Bax, Nickel And Dime has now earned $128,021 with seven victories in 28 career starts. The win was the fifth in 17 seasonal starts for the Resolve-Parkhill Nocredit gelding. The time shaved a full second off his previous best. He returned $4.60
After going winless for nearly four months, Time Passer got every call en route to a 12-1 upset in the final for three-year-old male pacers, snapping a 10-race losing skid and setting a new lifetime mark of 1:49.
In a change of tactics from recent outings, Time Passer and driver Plante wasted no time getting into action, vaulting clear of a host of other leavers in the first eighth of a mile before seating Sos Sports Bet (MacDonald) and even-money favourite Out Of Ice (Jamieson) in second and third, respectively, through a sharp :26 first quarter.
"Once I got him off on the right foot right off the gate, I said, 'Well, I might as well keep going a little bit,'" said Plante. "At the quarter, he felt really strong, so after that I just let him roll to see what we've got."
The Bettors Delight-As Time Goes By gelding rolled through speedy middle splits of :54.2 and 1:21.4, keeping slight separation over pocketed rival Sos Sports Bet and holding his ground as Out Of Ice made first-over gains to mount a mild challenge off the home turn. Nearing the eighth pole, Plante asked Time Passer for more pace, and the gelding's response was instantaneous as he shifted gears into a :27.1 final quarter and drew 6-1/4 lengths clear of Lyons Franky J (Daryl Thiessen), who rallied for second. Shadow Of An Angel (Trevor Henry) closed off fourth-over cover to take third.
"This horse had never been on the front," said Plante. "He's always got a lot of traffic in his trips. Once I got him there, I figured I'd give him a shot... after that, he did the job himself."
Time Passer won for the third time this season in 17 starts for trainer Dave Menary and the partnership for Menary Racing Inc. of Rockton, Ont., Michael Guerriero of Brampton, Ont., Ryan Morefield of Howell, Mich., and Larry Menary of Branchton, Ont. In all, the Willow Oak Ranch-bred gelding has earned $119,881 with three victories in 25 career outings.
Time Passer returned $26.20 to win.
In the overnight feature, the $40,000 Open Pace, Calicojack Hanover finished strongly off cover for a 1:49.3 score. Christoforou floated the stallion out from post six and slotted him in the four-hole, where he remained through :26.3 and :55.2 fractions set by Remember The Alamo (Borth). Calicojack Hanover was the first to leave the pylons, flushing out Taurasi (Trevor Henry) for cover to three-quarters in 1:23 before fanning out to attack at the head of the stretch. Calicojack Hanover uncorked a :26 final quarter, surging to the front and staving off the charging Nijinsky (MacDonald) to prevail by a half-length. Dublin Dasher (Cullen) and Remember The Alamo dead-heated for third.
Calicojack Hanover earned his 10th victory in 33 lifetime starts and raised his earnings to $432,361. The four-year-old son of Captaintreacherous-Charisma Hanover races for Luc Blais and Determination of Montreal, Que. He returned $11.30.
A replay of the live stream is available below.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(Ontario Racing & Standardbred Canada)