Four-year-old trotting stallion Emoticon Legacy trounced his Open rivals at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Sunday, Sept. 27 in follow-up victory to his world record Charlie Hill Memorial triumph.
Back at his home track with Bob McClure in the sulky, the Luc Blais-trained Emoticon Legacy trotted a :26.4 final quarter to pass a Dame Good Time (Louis-Philippe Roy) and Logan Park (Doug McNair) in the stretch for a 1:50.4 victory in the $44,000 Open Trot.
Firing off the gate from the outside post, Logan Park cleared the quick-leaving Dame Good Time into a :26.2 opening panel and continued to lead the field of a half-dozen past the midway mark in :55.2. After getting away fifth, McClure right-lined Emoticon Legacy heading into the final turn and picked up cover from the pocket-popping Dame Good Time approaching three-quarters in 1:23.3. Dame Good Time matched strides with Logan Park on the lead but as they continued to duke it out down the stretch with the former trotter drifting way out wide, Emoticon Legacy sprinted down the center of the track to blow by them both in the final eighth of the mile, winning by two lengths. Dame Good Time finished second over Logan Park.
In September racing action, Emoticon Legacy hit the board in the Grade 1 Maple Leaf Trot at Mohawk and won the Grade 2 Charlie Hill Memorial at Scioto Downs in a 1:50.2 world record for four-year-old trotting stallions on a five-eighths-mile track. He has finished no worse than third in all eight of his races this year, earning $344,071 to pushing his career bankroll to $1.87 million for owner Determination of Montreal, Que. The O'Brien Award-winning son of Walner and Emoticon Hanover now sports a lifetime summary reading 14-5-1 in 25 starts for owner/breeder Determination of Montreal, Que.
Emoticon Legacy paid $4.80 to win as the 7-5 favourite.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(Standardbred Canada)